The Little Pill Who Could
by Aria6
Summary: Ichigo's inner hollow gets put into a gikon after he makes one too many threats. But that gikon gets eaten by a random teenager, and the hollow has lost his memory... what will become of him now? Shiro/Ichi eventually. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

The Little Pill Who Could

_Nnngh... what's happening to me?_ His thoughts felt sluggish, uncomfortable. _... Where am I?_

He was surrounded by white. It was foggy white, reminding him of clouds (_but what are clouds?_) or marshmallows (_but what are marshmallows?_) The clouds were soft and should have been soothing. But they did not soothe him at all. To the contrary, he felt like the white was smothering him, sapping his strength. They were making him less than what he should be. (_But what should he be?_)

_Who am I?_ He asked the uncaring whiteness, but did not recieve a reply. He felt so blank and empty, his mind a void waiting to be filled. But when would something come to fill it?

He settled in to wait. There was nothing else he could do.

* * *

"What am I to do with this thing?" Urahara sighed, rolling the gikon between his fingers.

It was a very unique soul candy, and it had been created in a unique way. Soul Society was quiet. The Quincy had been crushed, and Ichigo was preparing to go to University. But his hollow had still been present and things had gone critical one evening when Ichigo had decided to have a few beers. The resulting weakness in his mental barriers had almost freed the menace in his mind, and it had badly injured three men. Truthfully, they were lucky to be alive after picking a fight with Ichigo and rousing his hollow half.

But Kurosaki hadn't seen it that way. He was afraid his hollow would win, control him and go on a rampage. Urahara was certain he was right to be afraid of that, but he still wasn't sure this was the correct way to handle the problem. The soul candy in his hand pulsed softly, as if it agreed, and the shopkeeper sighed again.

He'd managed to seperate out Ichigo's hollow half and store it in a gikon. Of course, that lowered Ichigo's power considerably. He'd suggested to the teen that he could take the soul candy and save it for when he needed his powers the most, but Ichigo had rejected the idea. And for good reason. Urahara had heard the hollow screaming just before he'd finished sealing him into the soul candy. It seemed the process had been painful and he doubted the hollow would just forgive and forget.

But what was he to do with the gikon now? Urahara stopped rolling the little ball and just stared at it for a moment. It was a highly unusual soul candy. Instead of the usual, matte surface, this one was a swirling white. It lightly perfumed the air with a not entirely unpleasant hollow reiatsu. He wasn't sure why, but it fascinated him. So instead of putting it in some kind of secure storage, he rolled it between his fingers one last time. Then he set it into a small candy dish.

"Just stay here for now." He said to the candy as though it could hear. And perhaps, on some level, it could. "I'll examine you more thoroughly tomorrow." Standing up he decided it was time to go to bed.

The soul candy could wait until tomorrow.

* * *

The gikon pulsed softly in it's candy holder.

White light flickered with every pulse, creating more shadows. The spirit inside the soul candy was nearly senseless now, overwhelmed by the white that was its prison. But it was not entirely asleep and something inside perked up as someone new entered the room.

Urahara's shop was not easy to burglarize. In fact, for most people it would have been impossible. But it was a little known fact that kido repulsions and barriers did not work well against those who were extremely intoxicated. Or in this case, strung out on drugs. The young thief's mind was so addled that the kido had been unable to tell him from a harmless squirrel, and had allowed him to pass through unharmed.

It wasn't the first time this had happened, though, and a secondary defense went into effect. The teen yawned, his eyelids going heavy. The simple sleeping kido often worked well on those who were intoxicated. But some drugs had effects that could cancel it out, and the boy shook his head as he noticed the gikon in the candy holder.

"Candy." Any normal person would have noticed that it was glowing, but the strung out teen just picked it up and popped it in his mouth. He didn't try to chew, or he would have noticed the 'candy' was hard as a rock. He swallowed it whole and his eyes abruptly went wide. "Hck!"

The hollow inside didn't really mean to devour his soul. But he was operating purely on instincts, and for hollows devouring other souls was an instinct. And this boy was no Ichigo. There was no resistence at all as the hollow gulped the soul down and abruptly found himself awake and aware inside a human body.

"What just happened?" He murmured, resting a hand on the desk and glancing around. Brown eyes had suddenly changed to black and gold. "..." The boy frowned to himself. All he could remember was scavanging in the streets, stealing for his next fix. He'd broken into this place to steal things, he'd eaten a candy and something had... happened. But what? Looking down at his hands he could see the skin was a normal peach color, and that seemed... wrong. "Need to get out of here." He had a bad feeling that if someone caught him here, something terrible would happen. He wasn't sure what, but he needed to get out. Abandoning any thought of theft, he quickly left the shop.

He was not going to give up his freedom so quickly.

* * *

Following routines that were deeply graven in his brain, the teenager went to find one of his hideouts.

It wasn't a very comfortable place to sleep. Just a pile of dirty blankets on a torn, dirty mattress in an abandoned factory. The boy curled his lip at the smell. When he'd been completely high on something, he'd pissed on the mattress. The fact that he'd still slept on it said a lot.

But his mind was completely clear now and he found the thought of sleeping in his own waste appalling. Snarling, he kicked aside the mattress and frowned. Where else could he go? Memories told him that he'd burned his bridges with most of his friends. But newer instincts said that friends weren't the only assets. Enemies could be useful as well.

Smiling viciously, he left the building and began walking through Karakura town. It didn't really take him long to find the run down apartment of one of his suppliers. Normally, the boy would have avoided him like the plague. He owed this man quite a bit of money. Now, he didn't give a fuck.

"Braigan! Open up." He snarled as he pounded on the door. "Braigan!" The door opened and the man within stared. He was a slightly older man with black hair and hard brown eyes.

"Takashi, you little motherfucker!" A fist flashed out and the teen evaded it as easily as breathing. The drug dealer looked briefly surprised before scowling. "Do you have the money you owe me, you little bitch? And what the fuck happened to your eyes?" The boy - Takashi? - ignored that. He didn't know what was wrong with his eyes.

"Not a fucking penny." He said, then giggled. It was a high pitched, unnerving sound. "I need a place to crash. Let me in or I'll stand out here screaming all your secrets to the whole neighborhood, hehe."

"I think I'd rather beat your face in." Braigan said with refreshing directness. Takashi (_was he really Takashi?_) grinned wickedly.

"Oh, please try. I'm dying for a good fight." He pounded his fist into his other hand, glancing down at himself. His arms and body looked firm and toned, which was a bit strange. His memories seemed to be saying he should be stick thin and sickly.

"Stupid fuck!" Braigan launched the first punch and to the other teen it was a laughably stupid attack. Grabbing the idiots' wrist and tossing him over his shoulder was easy as pie. (_what is pie?_) Then he grinned and got busy. A few sharp blows and he had the other teen's arm twisted behind him as he threatened to break it.

"Who's your daddy?" He said in a singsong tone as the other teen cursed violently, his face white with pain. "Who's your daddy?"

"You are! Oh my god, stop!" He writhed and Takashi snickered before releasing his arm. The teen squirmed away and he let him go. "Where the fuck did you learn how to fight?"

"I ate a little pill. Just a little pill." He giggled, still feeling almost high with the pleasure of the fight. "And don't think about cutting my throat in my sleep. I sleep very lightly, hehehe." The other teen got to his feet, sullen, baffled and just a touch afraid.

"Fine. When are you going to pay me what you owe me?" He asked as they went back inside. Takashi glanced around, curling a lip at the mess. He preferred an orderly home (_nest_) but at least there was no stench of bodily waste.

"How much do I owe you again?" He asked, idly curious. Maybe he would pay it back. Braigan glanced at him with a frown.

"A thousand bucks with interest, asshole." He snarled and Takashi sneered.

"I don't pay interest. How much do I owe you, asswipe?" He said and smiled dreamily as the other teen clenched his hands. Something about that smile made him go pale and look away.

"Fine, three hundred. What was in that pill, another person?" He said sullenly and Takashi blinked, then grinned.

"Got me. But I sure do feel different." Before, he'd lived in constant fear and need. Need for the drugs, the desperate obsession with his next fix. Fear that one of the people he owed money to would find him, or some gang members would decide to play with a street rat. And sometimes, he'd thought about his family and felt pain at how they had rejected him. Now, everything was different. The need was gone, and he felt only disgust at the thought of weakening himself with drugs. He feared nothing and no one. As for his family, a lot of it made him giggle. They'd deserved what they'd got for trusting him. Perhaps he could use that, though. His bridges weren't entirely burnt with his sister, and she might give him an opening to reconnect with his parents. "Got any food?" He was hungry. Braigan scowled but pointed him towards a half-eaten pizza. Takashi tried it and frowned. It tasted okay, but it seemed to be lacking something. Shrugging to himself, he ate it anyway. It eased the hunger a bit, but only a bit. "Have to figure that out later." He muttered to himself.

The answer would probably come to him in time.

* * *

The next morning, he was ravenous and Braigan was looking tasty.

Takashi wasn't bothered by the thought. Now that he was hungry enough, he could tell there was something inside the other teen (_soul_) that called out to him. He briefly considered taking it, but then decided against it. Braigan might be useful again someday. And there was something far more tasty outside.

"Later man. I'll try to get you the money I owe you." He said, only half meaning it. But maybe he would square his debts away eventually. Or maybe he wouldn't, who knew? Braigan just grunted and Takashi slouched away, his mind in the clouds as he tried to seek out that feeling that spelled sustenance.

It didn't take him long to find it, and he began to track (_hunt_) it down. When he found it, he stopped and stared. It was a big, monstrous looking thing, sitting on the edge of a bridge and scratching its' ass. It had a big mask of bone and vaguely reminded him of a bullfrog. Then it noticed him staring.

_"What the fuck are you?"_ It asked and Takashi blinked, a bit taken aback. This thing talked?

"I'm not sure. What the fuck are you?" He asked directly and the creature laughed.

_"I'm a hollow. And you look tasty."_ It licked its' lips and Takashi laughed, throwing his head back.

"You're fucking hilarious!" The bullfrog shot its' tongue out at him but the boy jumped over it neatly. Then he kicked the monster in the face, making it fall off the bridge. He grabbed the tongue with a manic grin, reeling the monster in.

"_Ow fuck! Let go you little bastard!_ The bullfrog writhed, unable to escape. It began charging up something red and the boy just looked at it for a moment before holding out his hand. A matching red light began to build in his palm. _"Oh shit! I'm sorry! Please let me go!"_

"No can do. You look tasty." Takashi said with a wicked little giggle before unleashing his power blast. (_cero_) It cut down the middle of the creature, neatly dispatching it and he was able to finish hoisting it up by the tongue. "Mmm, fresh meat." Pleased with his catch, he devoured it. It filled the hole in his gut much better than his frenemy could have. Finishing with the creature he belched loudly and considered his next move.

Taking up the vacated seat on the bridge, Takashi swung his feet and thought. He needed a place to stay, a real place, not just a place to crash. He could take some of the little hideouts he'd made for himself and revamp them, make them appropriate for his current mindset. Or he could try to make up to his sister and parents. Takashi favored the latter. He didn't really give a damn about them - they existed to be used - but he could use them far more intelligently now. His previous conduct baffled him and the boy frowned. Why had he stolen a hundred dollars in cash and several hundred more in electronics from his parents? He remembered the need for the drugs, but it still seemed shortsighted. Having a reliable place to sleep was worth more than a momentary high.

"Whatever." Shrugging the mystery aside, Takashi jumped down and went to go see his sister. She'd probably be busy at her job, but he could demonstrate his change of heart right there. He was not allergic to the opposite, in fact. Something he couldn't remember said he'd always needed to work hard for the little he'd gotten in life.

He could work hard at sucking up too.

* * *

"Tanis!" Takashi called, grinning at the odd sounding name. But his mother was half Japanese, half European, and she'd named her daughter after her grandmother. "You want some help girl?" He paused to watch her, amused by the antics in front of him.

His sister was the executive chef at a very busy restaurant. She'd often slipped him food, when he came by the back. Only cheap pasta, of course, but his taste buds had been shot anyway. Sometimes she'd paid him a bit to wash the dishes. He was hoping this would be one of those times.

"Takashi! Yes, one of the busboys called out! Take over the dishes!" She screamed at him, necessary to get her voice over the din of the busy kitchen. Takashi noticed she wasn't looking too good, red faced, sweating and possibly pregnant. Either that, or she was getting a bit heavyset. He wasn't going to make a guess, he vaguely remembered that that could go badly. "Nyoki, take the front!" The current dishwasher abandoned his place with alacrity and Takashi grinned as he took over. The dishwasher didn't get any tips, but the busboys did.

A lot of what he was doing involved loading and unloading the dishwasher. However, a lot of things had to be done by hand. The dishwashers were meant to accommodate huge volumes of plates and glasses, not pots and pans. Those he scrubbed by hand. Takashi remembered working very hard to get anything off, but today things were different. He ripped through the dishes like there was no tomorrow, and felt no real strain. Even the heat of the kitchen didn't bother him. If anything, it was welcome, helping to remove an everpresent chill from his bones.

His contribution did not go unnoticed. It was hours later before the dinner service was done, but when it was finished his sister brought him a plate of food and some cash. But Takashi wanted a bit more than that.

"Can we talk?" He asked and she looked at him suspiciously before nodding. She took off her cap, hanging it on a hook and removing her chef's coat. Then they took a seat in one of the back boothes, resting from the day's trials. "I'm off the junk." He said shortly as he tried the food. It was okay, but again, he knew it wasn't doing much to fill him. "I was wondering if you had a job and a place to stay." She was frowning at him, her expression slightly unnerved.

"I didn't notice in the kitchen, it was too busy, but what happened to your eyes?" She asked andTakashi frowned. He still hadn't gotten a look at those.

"I dunno, what do they look like?" He asked and she sorted through her bag for a moment before pulling out a compact and flipping it open. Takashi took a look at himself and blinked. "Huh!" His black and gold eyes were certainly weird, nothing like the brown he remembered. Yet strangely, they seemed right. "Strange. Heh, I ate a little pill." Takashi grinned as Tanis frowned. "I thought it was candy, but now I don't know. I just know I feel better than ever. So you got a place for me?"

"A job won't be a problem. Our dishwasher is close to being fired." She said with a scowl and Takashi wasn't surprised. The dishwashers were usually students trying to earn a few dollars and far from reliable. "But a place to stay... my husband might not like it after what you did to mom and dad. Can you prove that you're off the drugs?" She asked and Takashi laughed, a high pitched, tittering sound.

"Do I look like an addict?" He said mockingly before pulling up his shirt sleeve and flexing his arms. Her eyes widened at the sight of hard, powerful muscles. "I'll take a blood test if you want, but I'm clean." Takashi knew he'd taken drugs fairly recently, yet he was sure they wouldn't show up in his system. He wasn't sure why, but he trusted the feeling.

"Well, you can stay tonight." Tanis decided. "Yoshi won't mind. But we'll need his approval to make this permanent." She cautioned him but Takashi could see the hope in her eyes. He knew his sister and family had never really given up on him. And now, he could give them some of what they wanted and get some of what he needed in return. It seemed like a fair trade.

So that night, Takashi had a nice little guest room to sleep in and he got to know his young niece. Tanis seemed absolutely shocked when he played with her and gave her horseback rides, even making horse sounds for her. Takashi was a bit surprised by it too, especially by how hilarious it seemed. When her husband Yoshi got home he was less than thrilled to see him. Takashi ignored the low voiced discussion between him and Tanis, just concentrating on playing with little Yuki. She seemed to love his eyes.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Takashi slipped out of the house. It didn't take him long to find another of those hollow creatures. This one couldn't talk and it seemed rather weak and confused. Takashi caught and ate it then returned home, all in less than an hour. Then, with a proper meal in his belly, he settled in to get some sleep.

Tomorrow would be a big day.

* * *

"You _what?_" Ichigo stared at Kisuke in shock. The shopkeeper grimaced a bit behind his fan. The teen was right to be upset.

"Someone broke into the shop and took the gikon." He said patiently. "I suspect they may have eaten it." That worried him, deeply. He wasn't sure the rogue soul candy would act like a normal gikon. What would happen to the soul of the person who ingested it? Nothing good, he was sure. "I'm still trying to locate it. However, it's proving very elusive." There were plenty of hollows in Karakura town, and how would the gikon react with a human body? Kisuke just couldn't know. He was trying to search using Ichigo's reiatsu signature but so far he'd found nothing.

"Kisuke! That... thing is a monster! Do you know what he'll do if he gets free?" Ichigo demanded and the shopkeeper sighed.

"Eat pluses and other hollows, just like most hollows do." He said and Ichigo shook his head. "No?"

"He threatened to eat my friends, my sisters, even my father." He said in a low tone and Urahara blinked. That explained why Ichigo had been so keen on getting rid of his hollow. "He's a horrible menace."

"Well, perhaps he was just saying that to alarm you." Kisuke said cheerfully and Ichigo scowled at him skeptically. "If someone ate the gikon immediately, he's already been free nearly a week. And nothing has happened to your friends and family, I've been keeping an eye on them."

"A week?" Ichigo went almost white at that piece of information. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He demanded and Kisuke just shrugged. It was an eavesdropping Jinta who supplied the answer.

"He was hoping to find it so he wouldn't have to tell you. He finally decided that wasn't gonna happen." Jinta said and Ichigo muttered something about immaturity and elders acting like little children. Kisuke pretended not to hear, although his more honest part admitted it was true.

"Just keep an eye out for the gikon. I'm going to keep trying to find it." Kisuke instructed the teen. He had a theory that, as part of Ichigo's power, the inner hollow might be attracted to him. But it was just a theory and could very well be incorrect. "I'm sure it will turn up sooner or later." He said optimistically.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about." Ichigo groused before leaving the shop. He would have to inform all his friends about the problem. They needed to know to watch their backs.

He wasn't sure if his hollow had just been trying to scare him, but he wasn't going to take a chance.

* * *

"Hey Yuki, you want a..." Takashi slowly perused the ingredient list of the little bar he'd been planning to offer his niece. "Ew. What the hell is this shit? Are we even supposed to eat this? Parrafin product? It sounds like something we should be setting on fire." He muttered and Tanis sighed.

"Why are you reading the labels on everything? You never used to do that." She complained, fanning herself. Takashi grinned before opening the little wrapper and extracting the rather peculiar, jelly bean like bar inside. Then he pulled out his lighter and flicked it on before holding the candy over it. "Takashi!"

"What? I want to see if it'll explode - holy shit!" He exclaimed as the candy caught fire. Dropping it, he hastily stomped on it to put it out. "Was it supposed to do that?" He asked as Yuki laughed, quite pleased with the show. Tanis just shook her head, amused and exasperated. "Sorry Yuki, the candy was flammable. Who knew?" Grabbing a kleenex off a nearby table, Takashi began cleaning up the mess. Fortunately, the floor was linoleum.

Right now they were waiting at the Kurosaki clinic, getting some test results. Yoshi had some rather stringent but sensible requirements for letting his brother in law stay. He had to take regular drug tests and pass each one, as well as paying a small amount for rent and a larger amount for food. Takashi was okay with that, although he was hoping to get a better job than dishwasher. It was going to take him forever to square away his debts at that job.

He'd already had a few run ins with his old suppliers, and he'd made it clear to a few others that he wasn't paying interest. For a while, Takashi had seriously considered putting together a gang (_fraccion_) and getting into the business of drug dealing himself. But he'd finally decided against it. He wasn't sure who you dealt with and the only way he knew to figure it out would be to start as a low level dealer, and that was just bullshit. Low level dealers hardly got to keep any of the money they made and they were the ones who got swept up in stings. Braigan was one of that sort, and Takashi had nothing but contempt for his choices in life.

So instead, he was going clean and trying to do honest work. Right now he was looking in the help wanted section, looking for something better that a high school dropout could do. If nothing came up, though, Takashi had a plan. If he kept demonstrating his new work ethic to Tanis, he could eventually become a busboy and then a waiter. Or he could learn to cook and become a line cook, then a sous chef. Either way, the wages would be a hell of a lot better. With that kind of money he could get his debts taken care of and start to save for... what? He wasn't sure yet, but he'd likely think of something.

"Tanis?" The receptionist called and Tanis stood up, grunting slightly. Takashi stood, wondering again if she was pregnant. "The doctor will see you now."

"Thank you." She said gratefully and Takashi picked up little Yuki, putting her on his shoulders. She giggled and gripped his hair. Takashi had noticed that the deep brown color had begun lightening, becoming a sandy blonde. It was almost as if he'd been in the sun a lot, but he knew he hadn't. They all went to the back and Tanis offered the doctor a hand to shake with a smile. "Dr. Kurosaki?"

"Yes indeed!" He beamed at them before tickling Yuki under her chin. The child loved it, giggling and squirming. Takashi had to hold her legs firmly to keep her from falling off his shoulders. "We have the results of your blood work." He told Takashi, who nodded. "Here you are. You can look over it at your leisure, but to give you a quick summary, the results are completely clean." He told Tanis who looked extremely relieved. "And we also did several other tests at the same time. You appear to be a very healthy young man. Remarkable, considering your history." Dr. Kurosaki told him and Takashi nodded again. He certainly felt healthy.

"What about his eyes, Doctor? Did you find out what is causing that?" Tanis asked and Takashi frowned. He was wearing wraparound sunglasses now, to prevent people from seeing his eyes. He could see just fine but many people who saw the shades assumed he was blind. It was rather annoying.

"No. His liver tests came back just fine, and the back irises aren't typical of jaundice anyway." The doctor admitted as Takashi put down Yuki. She was squirming a bit too much now. She tugged on his hand, silently asking for a swing, and he grinned before gripping her tiny hands and swinging her. That made her squeal in delight and Dr. Kurosaki smiled at her. "I would suggest seeing an optometrist, especially if you start having any problems with your sight."

"You don't have to, Tanis. I'm feeling fine." Takashi said, still playing with his niece. He knew that Tanis and Yoshi were comfortable, but nothing more than that. He didn't want them to spend all kinds of money on tests he sensed would be fruitless. Tanis hesitated then nodded.

"Let me know if you have any problems, please." She said as she put the papers from the blood work away. Takashi nodded, placing Yuki on his shoulders again. "Thank you, Doctor."

"It was a pleasure!" The man said with a smile and Takashi paused, struck by a strange feeling of familiarity. Then he shook it off. His family had been seeing Dr. Kurosaki for quite some time, of course he felt familiar. They went back to the waiting room and Takashi waited patiently as Tanis unfolded the stroller. Then he put Yuki in it and went to open the door -

"Oh shit! Sorry!" He exclaimed as he opened the door and a teenager with orange hair almost stumbled into him. He'd clearly been just about to push the door open when Takashi had opened it from inside.

"Oh, it's nothing." He righted himself, blinking, and Takashi had another feeling of familiarity. This time it was much, much stronger and for a moment he stared, wondering where he knew this guy from.

Then he remembered and flushed. Back when he'd been an addict, he'd tried to join a gang once. They'd sent him along with five other guys to accost two teenagers as an initiation rite. At the time, he'd thought it would be easy. Six against two, how uneven could you get? In retrospect, Takashi realized they hadn't wanted any of them in the gang and sending them out against two experienced street fighters had been the gang leader's way of getting rid of them. They'd gotten their asses kicked and Takashi had been too ashamed to ever show his face there again. This kid had been one of the two teenagers he'd faced off with. He'd only been fourteen at the time.

"Yeah well, sorry. I'm Nagamura Takashi." He introduced himself, mainly so the other kid would introduce himself. He wasn't sure why, but Takashi found he was really interested in him. The teen frowned, then gave him a small smile.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. It's nothing, thank you." He said and went through the waiting room, heading for the back. Takashi kept holding the door open so Tanis could get the stroller through, and mentally noted the name. Kurosaki Ichigo. He had to be related to Dr. Kurosaki, which was interesting.

Shrugging it aside, Takashi followed Tanis out of the clinic. There was going to be a long dinner service tonight and they both needed to get Yuki to her grandparents. Or rather, Tanis would take her to them. She was going to wait until he had at least three clean drug tests under his belt before she mentioned him to their parents. Takashi thought it was a good idea, they had a lot to forgive.

But they would all get there, he was sure of it.


	2. Don't Cross a Hollow

"Da do do do... da do do do... do... da do!" Takashi sang to Yuki before offering her a spoonful of ice cream. She slurped up the sweet treat and beamed at him. "You like that, don't you Cuddles?" That was his new nickname for her, and it fit. Yuki was a very cuddly toddler.

Takashi was settling in pretty well into his new life. There was always lots of work for him at the restaurant – they were chronically short of good help – and he was already getting a bit of training as a line cook. It wasn't an easy job, but it had a great deal of appeal to him. He was good with knives and Tanis was teaching him interesting things, like how to fillet a fish and properly cut sashimi. The actual cooking was taking a bit longer for him to master, but he was rapidly getting the hang of that too. Takashi was hopeful that soon he would get a raise.

But one of his old suppliers wanted to see him. Takashi scowled to himself. He'd rather the other guy dropped dead, but he knew refusing wasn't a good move. Yoshi and Tanis were adults, they could take care of themselves, but Yuki was a child. (_cub_) Takashi knew it was his duty as a relative (_fraccion_) to make sure the kid was safe. That meant he couldn't afford to bring trouble home, so he'd meet the asshole as far away from his family as possible. Takashi sighed to himself, wishing all his old debts and contacts could just go away. They were developing a bit of wariness towards him – bad news gets around – but they were still willing to take him on. His previous reputation was shit, to say the least.

Right now, he was looking after Yuki while Tanis and Yoshi worked. It showed a lot of trust, but also a bit of desperation. The kiddo was sick with a stomach bug and they couldn't take her to daycare, even though it was starting to clear up. That kind of situation normally meant one of them had to miss work, which wasn't great at all. Yoshi was a dispatcher at the local cab company and his job wasn't very flexible. His sister's was, if anything, even worse. The top chef of the restaurant needed to be there on a busy Friday evening. But while the restaurant needed a dishwasher, it needed the executive chef more. Takashi was getting a break on the rent for this, which was good. And his old supplier wanted to see him late, so it should all fit together nicely.

"No more ice cream, Yuki." Takashi said and the toddler screwed up her face at him. "No." He said firmly before picking her up and cuddling her.

"Unca." She said and Takashi blinked before grinning. Yuki was over a year old and he knew both her parents were a bit worried about her. She didn't have much of a vocabulary for a child her age although the pediatrician said she was fine. Her little hand tangled in his hair and he winced a little before gently disengaging her.

"Yeah, I'm Uncle Takashi. Ow." Takashi frowned at the hair in her hand. She'd pulled out a few strands and they looked almost white. "Hmph." His hair was still sandy, but it seemed to be gradually bleaching out. Tanis was talking about taking him to the doctor again, but Takashi felt fine. Maybe he would get it dyed, though, if it kept bleaching. White hair would really stand out.

Yoshi finally got home, looking drained. Takashi greeted him as Yuki squealed and reached for him. Her father managed a smile before taking the child from him, gently cuddling her as she hugged his neck.

"You hungry? I put together some pork short ribs." They had been perking in the slow cooker for a long time and should be melt off the bone tender at this point. Takashi had already sampled them and he was pleased with the taste. He'd also fed some to Yuki, who had loved them. Yoshi gave him a small smile.

"I would appreciate that, thank you." He said and sat at the table as Takashi put together a plate for him. He added some steamed broccoli and heated it in the microwave before dressing it with a bit of olive oil and parmesan cheese. Then he added the ribs and brought the whole thing over to him, along with a fork and knife. "Thank you."

"S'nothin'. You want me to take her?" He asked and Yoshi nodded. Yuki was reluctant to go, but he distracted her with a good tickling. "Let daddy eat, Cuddles, then he'll play with you." He coaxed the little girl who giggled happily. He gave her another horseback ride, one of her favorite games, and by the time they were done Tanis had walked in the door. "Hey sis! How was work?"

"Dreadful. But we made a lot of money." Tanis said, sounding tired. She was part owner of the restaurant so the profits were never far from her mind. "How has Yuki been?" She sounded quite concerned and Takashi grinned.

"Great! She's gonna be fine for daycare tomorrow." He said, watching as Yoshi came over to take the child. She was very glad to go with her father. She might love her uncle, but he was rather new in her life. Her parents had been around for all of it. "I gotta go out tonight and meet someone, I might not be back until late." Tanis and Yoshi exchanged a look and Takashi could guess what they were thinking.

"Takashi, you shouldn't be involved with those people anymore. They'll drag you back down." Tanis said carefully and Takashi sighed. She was right, but that didn't mean he had a choice.

"I know, but it's not up to me. I owe this guy money and he's not going away. If I don't meet him where he wants, he'll come find me and that ain't happening." He said briefly, glancing at Yuki. Yoshi scowled while Tanis looked a bit perturbed. "I'll take care of things, Tanis. Don't worry about me." He was sure he could deal with this. His sister heaved a sigh.

"Before, I would never have believed that, but now I think I do. Don't make me feel stupid for trusting you." She warned him and Takashi grinned.

"I'll be good! For a certain value of good." He added and she looked a little pained. "So Yuki managed to eat some ribs and her baby food today…" He went into the kind of details parents wanted to know, like what her poops had been like and how much she'd thrown up. It was all pretty normal, to their relief. Yesterday she hadn't kept down a thing.

Takashi didn't bother to eat much for supper. He'd already snacked on a rather powerful hollow yesterday, and he'd found the good ones took a while to wear off. He could go for days, even a week after a good meal. When everyone else was going to bed he left the house, catching a late bus. The meeting point was pretty far away.

They were meeting at an old, abandoned building. Takashi entered as if he didn't have a care in the world, but he noted all the possible exits and the forces marshalled against him. Although that was a bit grandiose. He was actually facing four thugs and their boss, a tough man named Sota. He wasn't actually the guy Takashi owed money to, not directly. He was a mid-level boss in the drug trade, several notches higher than his supplier. Admittedly, he owed this particular supplier a lot of money – close to a thousand, without interest – but it still seemed odd that Sota wanted to talk to him.

"So, Takashi." Hard blue eyes trailed over him and Takashi scowled, feeling like that gaze was undressing him. That would actually have been better if there was something lustful about it, but it just seemed cold and calculating. Like he was being evaluated for something. "I'm told you owe one of my men almost five thousand dollars."

"One thousand!" He barked, immediately bristling. The men around him made threatening moves but Takashi just kept his gaze on Sato. "I don't pay interest, fucker." He snarled and Sato smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. In fact, it was one of the nastiest smiles Takashi had ever seen.

"You'll pay interest if I say you will." He said silkily and Takashi held back a sharp retort. If he had to pay interest, he'd be on a treadmill he could never get off of. It wasn't like he made good money and he couldn't ask Yoshi and Tanis to take care of his debts for him. They were comfortable but they didn't have thousands of dollars lying around. "But I have a different proposition. How would you feel about doing me a favour?"

"Depends on the favour." Takashi said warily. He wasn't just going to promise to anything, although he'd go pretty far to get this guy off his back. "I might consider a cock sucking, but we'd need a bit more privacy for that." He said, glancing over the flunkies. They mostly looked revolted, but one of them grinned. Sota looked amused.

"You're not to my taste. No, this is more violent." Takashi tilted his head, listening attentively. He liked violent. "A have a client who wishes to contract a hit. However, my men have already had trouble with this particular target. While I'm sure they could eventually kill him, it might be better if someone not affiliated with us did the deed. It would help with the investigation later." Sota explained and Takashi's eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn't be planning to fink me out to the cops, would you?" He asked suspiciously. "Because if you did, I'd have a lot to tell them about you, Sota." The other man just smiled and shrugged. Not exactly a response. "Who is this target?" Takashi had no moral qualms about murder. He'd considered trying to go into that business, too, but the problem had been the same as drug dealing. How did you get started? How did you make contacts you could trust not to betray you? People (_humans_) were just too damned talkative sometimes. And he really, really didn't want to go to prison. Being trapped in a box (_underwater world with nothing and no one_) was his worst nightmare.

"A boy named Kurosaki Ichigo." Sota said and Takashi blinked behind his glasses. He remembered the orange haired kid. And the thought of his death sent a violent revulsion through his body. (_he must not die_) The reaction was instinctive and Takashi trusted his instincts.

"I know that guy. Sorry, no can do. He's the kid of the family doctor, and I like the old guy." Takashi said easily, hiding his sudden tension. He didn't think they would be happy with him turning down their 'generous' offer. "Besides, I've faced him before. It didn't go too well."

"But you are quite a bit stronger now. Not to mention cleverer." Sota said and Takashi scowled. Cleverer? Had this guy been having him watched? "It might go differently, and you could avenge yourself for the humiliation." Takashi's scowl deepened. That did have a certain appeal. But he just couldn't shake the conviction that he _couldn't_ kill the Kurosaki kid. Something bad would happen if he did.

"No, and that's final. Was there anything else you wanted, or should I just go back to getting that thousand bucks I owe you?" He said and Sato's smile took on a nasty edge again.

"Five thousand. And I could put you to work in a different field." The bosses' eyes roved over him again and Takashi snarled silently. "Since you're not some scrawny, disgusting little street rat anymore. I'm sure I could find a buyer or two for you." The teen stiffened in outrage as he understood what Sato was suggesting.

"Fuck you! I'm not a whore." He snapped, although he knew that wasn't quite true. Takashi had sold himself for drugs many, many times, before his body had really started to go. "The only one who's going to get between my legs is someone powerful." Then Takashi frowned, wondering where that thought came from. He was willing to suck Sato's dick because he was strong, stronger than him in a lot of ways. But he wasn't going to do it for someone who'd just paid for the privilege. Money wasn't enough to win his favours, which was strange considering his past conduct.

"You really are being very difficult." Sato observed and Takashi scowled. There was a laugh and the thugs were moving towards him. He easily took a fighting stance and prepared to give them some hell. "We'll sell you on the black market, then. You'll fetch a good price now. Take him." He ordered his men.

The whirlwind of battle that followed went badly, but not for the young man at the centre of it. Takashi could only remember his past as a street rat and drug addict, but his body moved with the assurance of a hardened street fighter. Soon one of them was dead of a broken neck, one was clutching his busted balls, another was unconscious and the last one was trying to puke up a week's worth of dinners. Takashi had taken a good, hard punch to the face and another to the stomach, but he was still in business. Then something unexpected happened.

"Put your hands on your head." A cool voice ordered him and Takashi turned to see that Sato had a gun. That was unusual. It was hard to get guns in Japan and most of the street gangs didn't have them. Takashi stared at the barrel of the weapon. It seemed to fill his gaze, and he knew he couldn't kill the man before he could shoot him. Not by any normal means, at least.

But he had some very abnormal means at his disposal. Takashi reached out, not with mortal hands but with the power within his body. Sota had a moment to look puzzled before his body dropped dead, the gun rolling away from a limp hand. The newly made ghost turned to look at his body, still puzzled by his new circumstances.

"What did you do?" He asked and Takashi laughed before lunging at him. Sota tried to get away, but he couldn't stop Takashi from grabbing the chain on his chest.

"Removed you from your body. And now… you look tasty, but I know a way to make you tastier." Takashi grinned wickedly as an idea occurred to him. It would be so much fun to watch. "Hehehe." He gripped the chain and yanked on it, hard, keeping a hand on Sota's chest. The man's eyes widened in sudden agony as the chain was ripped right out of his chest. "This is gonna be good." Takashi leapt back, still grinning, and watched the man turn into a hollow.

The high pitched scream assaulted his ears and Takashi laughed. White flowed out of the man's mouth, coating his face and turning into a mask. Crossing his arms over his chest, he watched with a gleeful grin as the newly made hollow tried to orient itself.

"Eat your 'friends'." He crooned to it and it hesitated a moment, clearly trying to decide if it should go for him or for the thugs. It finally decided on the easier prey and screams erupted as the men were attacked by a monster they couldn't even see. Takashi cackled as he watched the blood and gore fly. The hollow couldn't remove their souls from a distance like Takashi could, so it was simply tearing them apart to get at the sweet little nugget beneath.

One of them tried to crawl to him and Takashi kicked him in the face, watching with pleasure as the hollow grasped him and bit into his back. The blunt teeth reminded him of a hippo, and did massive damage. The screams were music to his ears.

When the thugs were all dead, the hollow leapt for him. Takashi laughed and dodged it easily before tearing into it. It was pathetically weak, even after devouring four men, and he overpowered it easily. Then he ate it. He wasn't really hungry, but more food was not something he would ever turn down. When he'd finished eating the creature Takashi surveyed the room. What should he do now?

"Hmm." Shrugging to himself, he charged up a bit of red power. A few good blasts and it would take a forensic specialist to even determine how many people had died here. They certainly would never be able to determine the exact cause. Takashi attended to that, then pulled up his hood, wrapping a scarf around his face. He didn't want to be identified, if someone happened to be out this late. He left the building and turned back, charging up a ferocious blast. It used up a large amount of his power and he was glad of the meal, but it collapsed the building, burying the evidence. Takashi grinned to himself, wondering what the authorities would blame it on. A gas leak?

Humming to himself, he cheerfully left the scene of the crime. Although there was something he would have to do tomorrow. Sota hadn't been acting for himself, which meant there was still a hit out on Kurosaki Ichigo.

He kind of liked the kid, and he definitely liked his dad. Warning him seemed like the thing to do.

* * *

"Hey, Kurosaki!" Takashi sprinted after the telltale orange hair. It really made him easy to pick out in a crowd. The teen turned around with a frown and Takashi waved. "Over here!" School had just got out, and Takashi had been waiting for him. He knew the routines of school – it hadn't been that long ago he'd been part of it – so it hadn't been hard for him to find Ichigo.

"Hello?" Kurosaki said in a slightly wary tone as Takashi reached him, pulling himself up with a grin.

"You don't remember me." Takashi said, rather amused. But then, it hadn't exactly been a memorable experience. "I'm Takashi, I met you at the clinic. I opened the door just as you were walking in." That clearly sparked a memory and Ichigo nodded.

"I remember now. How have you been?" Kurosaki asked, clearly observing the social niceties.

"Not bad. I just needed to talk to you. There a place we can sit for a moment?" Takashi glanced around. This would take a while, he'd need to explain how he knew Kurosaki's life was in danger. The teen frowned but nodded, leading him over to some steps. "Okay. Do you have any idea why I was at your dad's clinic?"

"Of course not. He doesn't discuss the patients with me." Ichigo sounded annoyed at the suggestion and Takashi shrugged.

"I just wanted to know 'cause it would have made this faster. I'm a recovering drug addict." He said plainly and the teen across from him blinked. "I've been on drugs since I was thirteen, and I'm seventeen now." They were the same age, in fact. Takashi vaguely remembered Ichigo from school although they'd never been in the same class. "I just managed to kick them and my sister and brother-in-law are letting me stay with them as long as I get regular tests. But the thing is, I have debts with my old dealers."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Kurosaki said politely and Takashi barked a laugh. He knew what the teen was thinking.

"I'm not gonna ask you for money. I'm just explaining how I know… well, see. This guy, sort of a middle manager in the drug trade, called me in for a meeting. I couldn't exactly say no so I went. Then he made me an offer. All my debts with him could go away if I killed you." He said and saw Ichigo's eyes go wide. He clearly hadn't been expecting that. "I took care of him, so you don't have to worry about him anymore, but he made it pretty clear that the contract was from someone else. I don't know why, but someone wants you dead and they're willing to pay money for it." Takashi shrugged as Ichigo just stared at him, speechless. "I thought you should know." He stood and started to walk away. Then he stopped as a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder.

"Wait! Someone has put out a hit on me?" Kurosaki demanded and Takashi nodded. "That's insane! Who would do that?"

"I dunno." Takashi frowned. He really shouldn't get more involved in this. But (_he cannot die_) he wanted to. Ichigo seemed to pick up on that and his hand tightened.

"Takashi, help me out here." He said softly and Takashi blinked at the odd echo of his thoughts. "All I know about gangs and crime is the thugs I've beaten up over the years. I have no idea how to hunt down someone who wants to kill me. Can you go to the police with me?"

"Um… no." Takashi said slowly, avoiding the teen's eyes. He knew the teen probably wouldn't like this, but it was time to be honest. "I told you, I took care of that guy. As in, mysterious disappearance, never to be seen or heard from again." Ichigo tensed and took his hand away. That made Takashi scowl. "When I turned down his offer he told me I could whore myself out instead. When I told him to fuck off, he tried to take me to sell me as a sex slave. Okay?"

"Oh." The tension left Ichigo's body and he nodded, his brown eyes dark. "I see. Well, if you can't come to the police with me is there anything else you can do? You must have contacts." He said and Takashi thought about it for a moment.

"Sort of. I know a lot of drug dealers, but they mostly hate me." He said, then grinned. "But enemies can be useful. I'll see what I can dig up for you." He could go to his former suppliers and intimidate them, and start to move up the food chain. It would be dangerous but that was rather thrilling. He still didn't know _why_ he was willing to help Ichigo so much, though. He thought about it a moment and finally decided it had to be sexual attraction. Kurosaki was pretty damned hot and Takashi knew he was gay as hell. Although… he hadn't been, back when he'd been thirteen and just started using. Shrugging the thought away, Takashi turned his attention back to Ichigo. "What's your phone number?"

They quickly swapped information, but neither of them could stay to chat. Takashi kind of regretted that. It was probably just the sexual attraction, but he wanted to get to know the Kurosaki better. (_you already know everything about him_)

Takashi paused and shook his head, placing a hand against his forehead. He had the weirdest feeling that he _knew_ Kurosaki already. That if he really tried, he could say the kid's favorite foods and the names of his friends. And that was just ridiculous. He'd never known the guy, not really, unless getting kicked in the face was knowing someone.

"Okay, get a grip. It's just been an interesting couple days." He told himself then laughed. "Yeah, just an interesting couple days." Still chuckling at himself, he started off for home. He needed to get changed and ready for the daily grind.

Those dishes wouldn't wash themselves.


	3. Parental Meetings and a First Date

Takashi whistled to himself as he carried Yuki on his shoulders.

It had been several days since his talk with Kurosaki and he was doing his best to find out things for the teen. It wasn't going too well, though. People who put out hits often tried to conceal their identity. He was at least getting an idea of who he needed to question, though. Takashi was seriously thinking of calling in Ichigo for backup. He was powerful, but unless he wanted to yank out souls in job lots he could still get his head kicked in. And he had a bad feeling that pulling out too many souls could attract attention to himself.

Right now, though, Takashi was doing something completely different. It was Sunday and the whole family had the day off, so they were going to a petting zoo. Yuki loved every moment of it, although that was most likely because of the ride. She adored being on his shoulders rather than the stroller.

She also adored the animals and from Takashi's shoulders, she was able to pet many things. He squatted down so she could pat a goat on the nose, grinning as Tanis gave her a piece of food. The little toddler offered it to the goat and laughed as she immediately ate it. When they reached the birds, Takashi gently sat Yuki on the ground so she could get a toddler's eye view of them. They were much smaller than the goats.

"Aren't the peacocks pretty hun? Can you say peacock?" Tanis said to her and Yuki screwed up her little face with effort.

"Cwock!" She managed and Takashi burst out laughing as her parents winced.

"Wow, that'll go over well at daycare. Try saying pea, cuddles." Takashi encouraged her, pointing at the bird. "Peacock!" He coaxed her and she tried again.

"Pwea!" She squeaked out and he laughed as Yoshi picked her up with a smile. "Pwea… cwock!"

"Good job Yuki!" Tanis gently fluffed her hair and Takashi followed behind, smiling, as Yoshi carried her for a while. He couldn't carry her too long – he had a back condition – but he loved to do it. After a while he tried to put her in the stroller but she started to cry, reaching out towards Takashi. She knew who might carry her for a bit longer.

"Aw. Let me have her." Takashi took the kid (_cub_) with a smile and just carried her in his arms. Yuki fell asleep after a while, lying in his arms. He knew from experience that if he tried to put her in the stroller she would wake up, though, so he carried her as they left the petting zoo and headed for the car.

"Ah, to be young and strong again." Yoshi said with a smile and Takashi smiled back. The other man was five years older than Tanis and not really in the best of health. He had a stressful job, although the family situation was getting better.

Takashi knew that Tanis and Yoshi had both been surprised when he started pitching in and making himself useful. They'd thought of him as a burden, but he was determined not to be that. He knew there couldn't be dead weight in a household (_fraccion_) and he needed to prove himself to them. The only awkward thing was the fact that he _was_ younger and stronger than Yoshi. Some primitive part of him said that should make him the head of the household, but the rest of him knew that was crazy. Tanis and Yoshi were married and had a child and only the (_alpha pair_) ones in charge could have children…

Shaking aside the odd, almost feral thoughts, Takashi helped Tanis buckle up Yuki in the car seat. She woke up and started to cry, but her pacifier managed to fix that, along with a bit of soothing.

"Are you sure you want me along for this, Tanis? You could just drop me off at the house." Takashi asked. They were going to see their parents for a Sunday dinner. Before Takashi had turned over a new leaf, when Yuki got sick they had usually asked her grandparents to look after her. They weren't retired, though, so that often didn't work out. But now Tanis turned to him instead, so they had to make special time for the toddler to see her grandparents.

They weren't too eager to see him, though, and Takashi knew why. They'd gotten burned a lot worse than Tanis and seeing him giggling in a high when they'd confronted him about it, well, they'd been pretty damned mad. Tanis patted him on the shoulder, making him blink.

"It's okay Takashi. They've seen the drug tests, they're willing to give you one last chance." Tanis said and Takashi noted the 'last' part. But that was fair enough. He wouldn't need more chances.

So he went along with Yoshi and Tanis to his parents' home. It was on the outskirts of Karakura town and Takashi could remember that when he'd been a small child, it had been surrounded by trees. But Karakura town was growing and now it was surrounded by more houses. They still had a nice yard, though, by any standards.

Tanis knocked on the door and it was quickly opened by their mother. Takashi surreptitiously examined her. He hadn't seen her for a while and there were more grey hairs and wrinkles, but she looked healthy enough. She was in her mid-fifties and quite active, spending her weekends on hiking and jogging.

"Hi mom." He said with a smile as she and Tanis hugged. Her name was Michelle, but using that would be way too formal. He was still her son, after all. But his mother ignored him for the moment, exclaiming over Tanis's growing baby bump. His sister had finally told him she was pregnant.

"Please come in! Do you know if it will be a boy or a girl yet?" She asked and the women started chattering about baby things. Takashi didn't listen too hard. All the little things a baby required seemed odd to him. And his father had just entered the room.

Takashi was shocked by how bad he looked. It had been over a year since he'd lived with his parents, and clearly things had changed a lot. His dad looked… old. Creaky, tired, and his skin was a rather yellowish color. It looked very unhealthy.

"Hi dad. Um, are you okay?" He said weakly. His father gave him a look that made him cringe a bit. Exasperated and slightly hostile.

"I have cancer. Which you would have known, if you'd ever called." He said shortly and Takashi winced. Memories told him this was pretty mild, as far as parental guilt trips went.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't think you'd want to hear from me after, well, you know." He said humbly and his father looked a touch surprised. Memories told Takashi why. In the past, he'd made excuses for himself but hardly ever apologized.

Takashi frowned a bit as his father went to greet Tanis. It was odd. He remembered writhing in shame and guilt as his parents whipped him with their words. He'd deserved every bit of it and he'd known it, which had only made the shame and guilt worse. But he'd reacted by trying to defend himself, trying to justify the unjustifiable. Now… now he felt completely different. He didn't really feel any shame or guilt about not contacting his parents. Just a mild chagrin at knowing he had definitely failed in his responsibilities and a quiet commitment to do better. He could say he was sorry, since he planned to not do it again. Why had that simple thing been so hard before? Takashi couldn't understand it.

Takashi had no particular compassion for his father. People (_humans_) lived and died, it was the nature of things. But his parents were still a resource and he would give them what they wanted and needed in return for receiving their support in life. Support he had already taken, when he was just a child (_cub_). Satisfied with his reasoning although wondering if it was normal – he hadn't thought this way before – Takashi began setting the table.

"Do you need any help, mom?" Takashi asked, looking over the food. It was fairly typical fare, rice, lightly pickled vegetables and a whole baked sea bream. Also some miso soup which his mother was ladling out into bowls.

"If you could take these to the table." She said and Takashi nodded, taking two bowls of soup. He set them out, then went back for more. Soon the soup course was served and Takashi sat down to eat with everyone else.

"It's good." He said, swallowing the salty soup. It was tasty, although he'd never liked it much before. His mother gave him a slightly surprised look but smiled.

"Thank you. Tanis says you've been working as a dishwasher?" She said and Takashi nodded. "Do you have any plans for the future?" There was a vague sort of wistfulness in her voice and Takashi understood why. She'd wanted better things for her son, but he'd never cooperated with any of her dreams.

"Yeah, kinda. Tanis is already training me on how to be a line cook." Takashi said as his spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl. The food might not be filling, but it was good. "I figure I can work my way up to sous chef. Or maybe I can go back to school, try to get some kind of education." Takashi was seriously considering that. He'd hated school before, but he'd been bullied unmercifully. Now he was sure he could take those bullies and rip them apart. It made a difference. "Maybe I can get an apprenticeship in the trades." That would involve working with his hands, and Takashi was good at that. His mother smiled encouragingly as his father grunted.

"I'll have to see it to believe it." His father said sourly and Takashi scowled. Tanis spoke up hastily.

"He's telling the truth, father. He's been doing very good work at the restaurant." Tanis sounded defensive, Takashi noted. Then he turned his attention to Yuki. She wasn't looking very happy and some sixth sense (_reiatsu sensing_) told him what was about to happen.

"Uh oh." He quickly went to Yuki and removed her from her high chair just as she started to cry. "Hey Tanis, can I have the diaper bag?" She had a nice big bag she took everywhere. It contained everything a young mother would need to deal with a little girl. His mother and father were looking at him in something like shock but Tanis just handed over the diaper bag. Takashi held Yuki with one strong arm, looping the strap around his other arm before gripping her with both hands. "Thanks. D'you mind if I change her in the bedroom?" He asked his mother who was rapidly recovering from her shock.

"No, not at all!" She said and Takashi left the room to take care of the mess. And it was really quite a mess. He spread out a disposable piece of paper onto the bed before setting the toddler down, and it was a sensible precaution. Her diaper was so full it was oozing.

"Yuck. You're a dirty little kid." He muttered as he cleaned her off. Tanis was just starting to potty train her, but it couldn't happen too soon as far as Takashi was concerned. He carefully sealed up the dirty diaper, putting it into the diaper bag before putting a bit of baby powder on Yuki's bottom and fixing her up with a new diaper. The toddler started trying to crawl away, enjoying the feeling of the bed, which made it more interesting. "Oi! You're gonna land on your head, cuddles." Takashi grabbed her and tickled her before managing to get the diaper on. Yuki giggled happily, grabbing his hair as he lifted her into his arms. "C'mon, you should try to eat something." She'd done fairly well on the miso soup, but there were fish, rice and veggies left to go.

When he brought Yuki back out, Tanis shot him a triumphant look and his parents were looking rather subdued. Yoshi was clearly staying out of it, whatever it was. Takashi just ignored the interplay and got Yuki back in her high chair, fastening the bib around her neck. Then he picked up the little plates of food and put them in front of her. Then he took his place at the table. She didn't need help eating, although a lot of it would end up on the floor.

Takashi sampled all the food, although he didn't eat much of any of it. It was okay, but it just didn't fill the hole inside him. He would have to find another hollow to eat, preferably tonight. Fortunately the things seemed to be everywhere. There was no shortage of real food for him.

His family talked about various things, including their upcoming vacation. His parents were going on a cruise, something his father had always wanted to do. Takashi thought the idea was fascinating, and he vaguely wished he could do something like it someday. But unless he started making much better money, it would never happen. Yuki started fussing and Takashi abandoned what was left of his meal to play with her. Soon he was giving her a horseback ride, grinning as little feet dug into his sides and tiny hands gripped his hair.

"He plays with her?" He heard his mother whisper to Tanis. She sounded shocked and Takashi frowned as he thought about the past. He hadn't played with Yuki? No… he definitely hadn't. She had annoyed him and he had stayed as far away from her as possible. Yet, she didn't annoy him at all now. Strange.

"All the time." Tanis sounded proud of him and Takashi smiled to himself. He wasn't supposed to overhear, but his hearing was excellent. Yuki kicked his sides, impatient with him, and Takashi made some more horse sounds for her. It was still utterly hilarious and made him grin.

Eventually, supper was over and they got ready to leave. Takashi was surprised when his mother suddenly hugged him.

"It's so good to have you back." She said tearfully and Takashi hugged her back, his cold heart feeling almost warmed. "We were always so worried about you. Promise me you won't go back?" She begged and Takashi winced to himself. He knew this wasn't the first time she'd asked him to make that promise. Words were cheap and he'd given it before, but he'd never meant it.

"I'm not going back to drugs, mama. As soon as I get all my debts paid off, I'm going straight as an arrow." Takashi said comfortingly and she took a deep breath before nodding.

"Debts? What sort of debts?" His father asked suspiciously and Takashi flashed him a sad smile, letting go of his mother.

"My old dealers." He said simply. His father scowled and his mother bit her lip, and Takashi could guess what was coming. "You can't pay them off again, mama. Dad deserves his cruise and this is my problem." They'd paid off his debts twice already. He couldn't ask that of them again. His mother sighed but nodded.

"Good luck Takashi." She said and Takashi nodded before leaving the house. He appreciated that.

Luck was something he would need.

* * *

Takashi closed his eyes, curled up in his hideaway.

He was spying on someone relatively high up on the illegal food chain. Takashi wasn't entirely sure of his position. He was sure if he was caught he would be shot out of hand, but that only gave him a thrill of excitement. The prospect of his own death did not alarm him. The thought of imprisonment was far more frightening.

He couldn't see what was going on, from his place in the attic. But with his ear pressed firmly to the floor, he could make out the voices below him. Takashi curled his lip as he heard the man discussing a punishment they were going to meet out to a particularly obstinate whore. It sounded grotesque. He'd been at this for hours and he was starting to wonder if he'd ever find out anything useful.

Then he finally hit pay dirt as someone came in to report. A lot of the reports were done in person, not with phone calls, Takashi had noticed. They were probably worried about surveillance. Phone lines weren't that secure and cell phones were even worse.

"…Tried to get him, boss. He put four of my men in the hospital." Takashi licked his lips. This sounded like it could be Ichigo. "Maybe a sniper?" Takashi's eyes narrowed and he snarled at the thought. That was what he was worried about. Kurosaki could take care of himself in a fight, but a guy on a roof with a gun, what the fuck could he do about that? Except die.

"Maybe. Unfortunately, the police get quite upset about that sort of thing." The guy said. "Possibly a good arson of his home?" Takashi winced. That was even worse. Ichigo would have a fit when he heard about that plan.

"Maybe. I know a guy… but how much are we getting paid, boss? Maybe we should negotiate a raise in the fee, yah?" The new guy said and Takashi grumbled under his breath. How much were they getting paid? He wanted to know.

"Maybe. But it takes a week to get a message through my contacts in Tokyo." Takashi's eyes widened at that. Tokyo? The hit was coming from Tokyo?

That was all the useful information he got from the meeting. When the guy left, Takashi left too, crawling through the small hole he'd created in the roof. The power blasts he used had many wonderful, varied applications for someone with fine control over them. Someday soon, someone in this house would be noticing a massive leak. But he didn't care.

He had plenty of information for Ichigo.

* * *

"Fudge fudge fudge." Takashi muttered to himself as he worked the dye through his hair. "Fudge!" Normally he would not have censored himself. Tanis could curse like a sailor, especially when someone burnt the food or over salted the soup. However, there was a rule. No swearing where Yuki could hear. Despite not having much of a vocabulary, she was a genius at picking up all the wrong words.

Takashi had realized this morning that his hair was white. Not just sandy blonde, but white. And while it didn't bother him much, he didn't want to worry everyone. So he'd worn a cap this morning and gone out to buy some hair dye. Now he was working it in, returning his hair to a more anonymous sandy blonde color. He finally finished and looked at himself in the mirror critically.

"It'll do." He was back to a sandy blonde shade, which he thought looked rather good on him. His skin had lightened but stopped at a very pale color, so it matched well. Cleaning up the sink – he'd gotten dye everywhere – he put the towels in the hamper and grabbed a shirt out of his room. Tugging the fabric on over sculpted abs, he went to the kitchen.

Today was his day off, so he was watching Yuki. She was being a very good toddler at the moment and was asleep in her playpen. Takashi had two plans for supper tonight, one that took almost no effort and one that was a bit more elaborate. He was glad to see he could use the more elaborate option. Smiling to himself, he began making pasta dough. He sifted the flour together, then cracked a good six eggs into it. This would be rich pasta, but that suited what he wanted perfectly.

Humming to himself, Takashi made a filling of tinned crab mixed with ricotta cheese and spices. He knew this would be good, it was one of the recipes from Tanis' restaurant in fact. She made a kind of fusion cuisine, combining Japanese techniques with French and some Italian. Fresh ravioli went over very well in Karakura town. He was just packing the completed raviolis into the fridge, wrapped in saran wrap, when the doorbell rang. Yuki woke up with an unhappy screech and Takashi grinned. He went to get her before opening the door one-handed. He knew who it would be.

"Uh, thanks for inviting me over." Ichigo said with a smile, dropping his backpack near the door. Takashi smiled back, meeting warm brown eyes. Although Ichigo couldn't see his. Takashi was wearing his usual shades. He hardly ever took them off anymore.

"It's not a problem." Takashi said lightly. "Everyone is working, it's just me and the kiddo, so we can go over our action plan." Yuki wouldn't understand any of it, which was good. "Hey, can you hold her while I get the veggies on the go?" He'd already sliced them up and was just waiting for Kurosaki to arrive. He nodded and took the toddler as Takashi lightly coated the vegetables in olive oil and popped them into a pre-heated oven. "They should be done in thirty minutes or so. I'll start the ravioli five minutes or so before I need to get them out, it doesn't take long at all." Fresh ravioli cooked almost instantaneously. Ichigo looked a bit taken aback.

"You really shouldn't have gone to all this trouble." He said a bit uncertainly and Takashi laughed as he pulled a dish out of the fridge. It was scalloped potatoes, he'd already made it much earlier. He popped it into the oven along with the vegetables to warm it. He could have used the microwave but the oven was already on, so why not?

"It's no problem at all. I enjoy cooking." He said truthfully. He was getting a real taste for it, no pun intended. "You want some tea? Water, coffee?"

"Tea, if you could." Ichigo said with a smile as he gently ticked Yuki. The toddler laughed and squirmed, asking to be put down. He set her on the floor and she toddled over to Takashi, gripping his leg and babbling happily. He blinked and looked down, momentarily stymied.

"Hey cuddles, I have two cups of tea here. Hmph!" Setting one down he scooped her up, smiling. She grabbed his neck, hanging on happily.

"Unca!" She said and Takashi laughed before bringing the tea to Ichigo. He was watching them with a small smile on his face.

"It's been so long since Karin and Yuzu were that small, I can hardly remember it." He said nostalgically. Takashi blinked. Those were the names he sort of remembered, the names of Ichigo's sisters. How had he known that? It was so strange.

"I'm sure they were really cute. Hey Yuki, you willing to sit in your high chair? …Ah. No." As soon as he tried to put her in it she clung even more tightly to his neck. "I guess someone wants to be held. Well, okay." He went to get his tea, taking the toddler along for the ride. "So you had a fight and put four guys in the hospital?" He asked. The guy he'd spied on hadn't mentioned Ichigo by name, so he could be wrong about who he was talking about. But from the shocked look on Kurosaki's face, he wasn't.

"Yes, I did… how did you know about that?" He asked, surprised. Takashi gave him a quick grin.

"I managed to eavesdrop on some dude and a guy reporting to him. They mentioned four thugs getting sent to the hospital and I figured it was you." He said but then his grin faded. "I've got some bad news. We might want to think about going to Tokyo."

"What? Tokyo? Why?" Ichigo asked and Takashi grimaced. He didn't have the money for hotel rooms, and he doubted Ichigo was much better off. He was still in high school.

"Because the hit is coming from someone in Tokyo. And that asshole I was spying on was talking about some really fucked up ways to kill you. Like, setting your house on fire." He said and Ichigo swallowed hard, looking sick. "And since that would barbecue your sisters too, it would probably be good to get out of town anyway. The other thing he was talking about was getting a sniper and while that would spare your dad and sisters, it would be really hard for you to avoid. This shit is getting pretty serious."

"Yeah." Ichigo said softly before drawing a deep breath and letting it out. "What would you recommend?" He asked and Takashi grimaced before picking up his tea and taking a sip.

"I honestly don't know. I don't know anyone in Tokyo and I don't have any money. I could probably make contacts with drug dealers and shit there pretty easily – I know how it goes – but where would we stay?" That was his main concern.

"Hmm. Maybe Urahara would have an idea." Ichigo mused to himself and Takashi frowned. He vaguely remembered a guy wearing a striped hat, with straw yellow hair. But he was sure he'd never seen him before in his life. "And if they're talking about setting the house on fire, I should probably talk to dad." He sounded like he was looking forward to that like a hole in the head. Takashi could sympathize. He didn't even want to think how Tanis and Yoshi would react if he were the one being targeted.

"You should dye that hair of yours when we leave. That'd make it hard for them to find you." He suggested and Ichigo gave him an outraged look. "What? You're really easy to spot."

"Oi! Whatever. Is that all you've found out?" He asked and Takashi nodded.

"Yeah, no idea who's got the hit out on you." He glanced at Yuki. She was dozing off, her head against his shoulder. "I'm gonna try to put her in the playpen." He really needed both hands free for the ravioli. She would probably wake up, though. But he got lucky and she stayed asleep as he set her into the playpen. "Good stuff. Let me get that ravioli on the cook." They could talk as he finished dinner. "So we went to school together, you know." He said casually as he got the ravioli in the pot.

"Really? I don't remember you at all. Did we share any classes?" Ichigo asked and Takashi shook his head as he added some more salt to the water.

"No, and I looked different back then. I didn't have pipes." He flexed one arm, making the other teen laugh. "And my hair and skin were darker. I'm not sure why, but my hair decided to turn white. So I know all about using hair dye." He didn't want to worry Tanis and Yoshi, but he also didn't want to be easy to spot.

"I get the point. You would look good with white hair, though." Ichigo said with a smile as Takashi drained off the ravioli and began plating them. He was going to finish them simply, with just a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper as well as freshly grated parmesan. Tanis always kept a huge block of it in the fridge.

"Maybe I'll let the dye grow out after we're all done this. I'd tell you more about myself, but it's mostly 'got high, passed out.' Repeat into infinity." He said and grinned as Ichigo laughed. "So tell me about yourself. You've got sisters?" He pulled the vegetables and potatoes out of the oven, adding them to the plates. Ichigo nodded as he set them out.

"Karin's a bit of a tomboy…" He began describing his family and Takashi smiled as he listened, sipping his tea and sampling his food. It felt like he knew all this, but he didn't mind hearing it again.

In fact, it was quite pleasant.


	4. Travelling to Tokyo

Ichigo set down his book bag, humming softly to himself as he turned on the computer.

It hadn't really been a date, between him and Takashi. Yet, it almost felt that way. They hadn't spent a long time on strategy besides deciding that the next move would be to go to Tokyo. Ichigo was hoping that Kisuke or perhaps one of the soul reapers could put him up there. Did Byakuya have any properties in Tokyo? He didn't really want to beg a favour of the stiff noble, but he couldn't afford a hotel.

His thoughts went back to Takashi and the teenager smiled to himself. He was good company and Yuki was adorable. It helped that Takashi was easy on the eyes. He had a nice face, a bit on the thin side but quite attractive. When he smiled, his teeth were slightly crooked. He wore his hair in a short, spiky hairstyle, with long bangs that went over his forehead, left to right. The pointed tips just went over the edge of his shades. Overall, it was a nice look. Nothing amazingly gorgeous, but nice.

Ichigo liked the way Takashi talked about his past. Factually, without any attempt to justify or defend himself. It was a simple, 'this is what happened. I'm not that person anymore.' Ichigo could respect that, although he knew it was probably crazy to think about getting involved with a recovering addict. He'd seen all the damage drugs could do.

"Ichigo!" Ichigo blinked as he turned around in his chair, realizing that Karin had said his name several times. "I'm guessing your date went pretty good, huh?"

"Karin! It wasn't a date." Ichigo said sharply. "I was meeting a guy." He said defensively and Karin just gave him a look.

"You wouldn't date a girl, Ichi-nii." She said and Ichigo scowled at her. Karin seemed dead certain he was gay. Ichigo was pretty sure she was right, but he wasn't going to admit it, not yet anyway. "So how did it go? What did you guys do?" Ichigo considered just telling her it wasn't her business, but that would just spark her curiosity. And it wasn't like they'd done anything interesting.

"He cooked us dinner, introduced me to his niece and we talked." Ichigo said and Karin looked slightly disappointed. "The food was good." The food had been very good, in fact. There had been a desert too, a kiwi granita that Takashi claimed to have made himself. Ichigo believed him, it wasn't something you could buy at the grocery store. It had been very cool and refreshing. "He's training to be a chef, and it shows."

"Oh yeah? What's his name? Tell me more!" Karin went and sat on his bed and Ichigo sighed to himself. Karin would pester him forever if he didn't give her what she wanted.

"His name is Takashi. He's a recovering drug addict." That made Karin blink. "He's really pulling his life together, Karin. He's working as a dishwasher at his sister's restaurant, and she's going to make him a line cook if he keeps it up." Ichigo thought that would be sooner rather than later. The pasta had been excellent. "He made us some crab and cheese stuffed ravioli, scalloped potatoes and baked vegetables." The potatoes and vegetables had just been basic home cooking, it was the rest of it that really made the meal. "With a kiwi granita for dessert."

"What's a granita?" Karin asked and Ichigo did his best to describe the ice slush. It wasn't the sort of thing they normally had. "So like an ice cone with fruit?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He poured a bit of limoncello over it before he served it." Just a tiny bit to add a hint of zing. "He left that off Yuki's, of course." There was no way Takashi would serve hard liquor to a baby, even if it was just a capful. Karin grinned.

"Yeah, I daresay! He sounds like a cool guy, if he's really off the drugs." She said and Ichigo nodded. That was always a concern, when someone had a past like Takashi's. "What's he look like?"

"Hmm? Well, he's very well built." Ichigo flushed a bit as he thought about that. Takashi had worn a t-shirt, and he'd been able to see his arm muscles easily. The rest of him seemed to match. "He must work out a bit. He has very pale skin and sandy hair, although he said he dyes it. Apparently, it's gone white. He has an eye condition and always wears wrap around sunglasses." Takashi had joked that he was like Geordi in Star Trek. Ichigo was a bit curious about what his eyes looked like, but he wasn't going to push it. Then Ichigo suddenly frowned. White hair, an eye condition… that almost sounded like…?

But no, that was ridiculous. Takashi was nothing like his inner hollow. The thought of his hollow caring for Yuki like that was just laughable. Ichigo knew that his inner hollow was the sum of his instincts, and it didn't occur to him that that might include mating and child rearing.

"Ichigooooo!" Ichigo winced at the sound of his father getting home. But he was also glad he was there. He really needed to have a serious talk with the old man. "Where are yoooooou?"

"In my room!" He called down, then got up from his computer chair. "I'm coming down!" He knew what would happen when he did, and his father did not disappoint him. He easily ducked the foot and punched Isshin neatly in the face, knocking him down. "Idiot. You know that never works." And he was getting quite tired of it. His father jumped back up with a wide grin.

"It's my duty as a father to keep you on your toes, Ichigo!" Ichigo just grunted, wishing he didn't have to have this conversation. But his father could be serious when the situation called for it.

"Can we talk privately, dad?" He said, even though he knew it would annoy Karin. Yuzu was more laid back.

"About your date last night?" His father said and Ichigo winced as an arm went around his shoulders. "Of course, you can tell your daddy all about it!" There was a snigger from Karin and Ichigo growled.

"It's not like that! Oh, come on." He grabbed Isshin's arm and dragged him upstairs to his room. That was about as private as he could manage. "Dad, I need to go to Tokyo."

"What?" Isshin was immediately puzzled. "But that nice young man you met is here." Ichigo took a deep breath and began explaining the whole situation. Isshin's silly grin quickly faded and was replaced with a dark scowl. "Why would someone want you dead?"

"I don't know. I have plenty of enemies in Soul Society, but I can't think of anyone in the human world except whoever survived from Xcution." Then the teen hesitated. "It could be them." The one who had bankrolled their activities, Yukio… Ichigo wouldn't put anything past him. "That might be a good place to start."

"Yes… but the boy who told you this, Takashi. Ichigo, do you trust him? This could be a trick." Isshin asked and Ichigo thought about it carefully. This actually had occurred to him. After Takashi had come to him with his bombshell, he'd asked Urahara and Yoruichi to check him out. Yoruichi, in particular, had had great success. A cat could slip into a restaurant, especially when the cooks thought she was adorable.

"I trust him, dad." He said firmly. "I had Kisuke check on him to make sure he was on the level. He seems to be exactly what he says, a recovering drug addict. Besides, you know him right?" He said and Isshin nodded slowly.

"Not well, but his family has been going to the clinic since he was a little boy." Isshin sighed then, looking down. "I almost wish he was lying. The thought of someone paying money to kill my boy… where will you stay in Tokyo?" He asked and Ichigo grimaced.

"I was wondering if you would have some ideas." He said and Isshin frowned, thinking. "I was also going to see if Urahara or anyone in Soul Society could help me out. Someone must have properties there, right?"

"Any of the noble families probably would." He said and Ichigo sighed to himself. Byakuya was probably the best choice, he was the one noble who really owed him something. "If they can't help you, I will pay for it Ichigo. Perhaps Yoruichi could go with you?" He said hopefully and Ichigo grimaced at the thought. He'd had enough of her in the pools. But she'd be much better at investigating than Takashi.

"I'll ask." Ichigo promised before reaching out and clasping his father's arm. "Thanks for helping, dad. What should we tell Karin and Yuzu?" He wasn't sure he wanted them to know about this. His father rubbed his chin for a moment.

"Mmm… that's a tough one…" He mused to himself for a moment. "We can tell them Takashi needs your help with his, ah, former associates. They'll believe that, you always protect your friends." Ichigo chewed his lip for a moment, thinking about it. Karin and Yuzu wouldn't be happy but it would still be better than the truth.

"Okay." He felt a bit guilty about blaming this on Takashi, but it was probably the best story they could come up with. And he just didn't want them to know the truth.

His sisters would worry enough as it was.

* * *

Elsewhere, someone else was taking a similar tact.

"I'm sorry to leave you in a lurch Tanis, but he really needs my help." Takashi really did feel bad about this. But Ichigo needed some backup in Tokyo and the other person he'd asked couldn't come. And the teen refused to endanger any of his other friends, since they wouldn't know anything more about the underworld than Takashi did. Less, in fact.

"But you just met him! Takashi, why are you doing this?" Tanis sounded close to tears and Takashi bit his lip. This was really hard. Yoshi was looking at him like he was upsetting her on purpose.

He'd already given them a highly edited explanation of the contract on Ichigo. Instead of telling them how he'd been called to a meeting, he said he'd been asking his dealers for ways to pay down his debts faster and one of them had mentioned a bit of murder for hire as a possibility. That little lie helped, because he didn't have to explain how he'd killed Sota and his thugs. Tanis and Yoshi wouldn't be able to handle those kinds of details, unlike Ichigo.

"I like him Tanis, and I've known Dr. Kurosaki since I was just a kid. It's just something I have to do, okay?" Takashi said, trying to think of how to explain it. "…He's important to me." He finished. For some reason, Ichigo seemed like the most important person in the world to him. Only Yuki might compare. Tanis sniffed and Yoshi looked at him with an expression of dawning understanding.

"I had no idea you were like that, Takashi." He said and Takashi blushed lightly as Tanis looked at her husband, confused.

"Like what?" She said blankly and Yoshi whispered something in her ear. Takashi caught it easily and winced.

"He's right, Tanis. I'm gay. But we're not lovers yet, it's just an attraction." He said hastily as Tanis looked a little horrified.

"Just make sure you use a condom! You haven't had your second STD test yet!" She said and Takashi blinked before bursting out laughing. For some reason, that was just the most hilarious thing in the world. "Well, you haven't!" She snapped, flustered, as his laughter trailed off into giggles.

"You're worried about me giving Kurosaki some horrible disease? I love you Tanis." He said with a grin before giving her a hug. She squeaked, surprised. "Thank you so much for everything you've done for me." He said softly and she hugged him back before letting go with a sniff.

"Just be careful. I haven't actually fired our other dishwasher, just cut his hours. I'll up them again and hopefully he'll show up." Her tone was sour and Takashi nodded sympathetically. The other kid was way too unreliable. "Be careful Takashi."

"I'll be careful Tanis." He assured her. She looked less than reassured, but nodded. Picking up his bag, Takashi left to go take the bus.

He would be meeting Ichigo at the train station, and from there they would take the bullet train to Tokyo.

* * *

"Fuck!" Ichigo heard the exclamation before he saw the sandy blonde hair. Grinning, he went to find his new friend. "You fucking cat! I know you like me but you can't come!" Ichigo blinked at that. Cat? "Why in hell did I feed you? I'm so stupid sometimes…"

"Takashi?" Ichigo came around the corner to see Takashi struggling with a black cat that had fixed itself quite firmly to his luggage. The struggle was doomed to failure, although the other teen couldn't know it. "Yoruichi!" Ichigo ran up and easily grabbed her off the luggage. "You said you couldn't come!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise." The cat said and Takashi's mouth dropped open. "I like your friend, you have great taste in men. And that tuna was fantastic." Yoruichi licked her whiskers as Takashi swayed on his feet.

"It talks…" He sounded disbelieving and Ichigo couldn't help but smile. Then he thought of something and frowned.

"You haven't brought any luggage. You don't have any clothes!" He said to the cat, who blinked at him innocently.

"Oh, I packed in some things into your bags." She licked her paw, cleaning herself off nonchalantly. "I did have to move a few things out but I'm sure you won't miss them." Ichigo grimaced at that. What had she taken out of his suitcase?

"Um, the train is in. I think we should catch it." Takashi said and Ichigo glanced over. The train was definitely in, and while it wouldn't be leaving for another ten minutes it did behoove them to get on board. "Will they allow a cat on board?" He asked and Yoruichi laughed before leaping onto his shoulder.

"Hide me in your shirt." She suggested and Ichigo choked a little at the thought of the perverted shinigami woman inside Takashi's shirt. The other teen obeyed immediately, though, not seeming to care. But then, he likely thought that Yoruichi was a man. The male voice of her cat form was very confusing. "Ah, you smell… interesting." There was a strange note to her voice but Ichigo just ignored it. It was probably something perverse anyway

"Let's get going. And thank you for coming, Yoruichi." Ichigo said, feeling extremely grateful. Their chances of success had just gone way up. There was a chuckle from the shirt.

"After everything you've done for us, we would never desert you Ichigo. Now hurry and get on the train." She urged and the two boys obeyed with alacrity. Storing their things they took their seats. Takashi pulled a plastic container out of his carry-on bag and Ichigo looked at it curiously.

"What's that?" He asked as Takashi opened it. It looked like seeds?

"Shelled pumpkin seeds, roasted with coconut oil, harvest spices and a bit of honey. Want some?" Ichigo smiled and took a bit. The honey had stuck some of the seeds together, forming a weak brittle. "It's really easy to make, I just toasted it in the oven."

"It tastes great." Ichigo said as he crunched on the food. It had been a long time since breakfast, and no food was served on the train.

"Thanks. So where are we staying?" Takashi asked, moving so he was facing the window as a train conductor came by. Fortunately, the suspicious bulge in his shirt was not detected. Ichigo smiled at that.

"Byakuya is letting us stay at a condo he has in Tokyo." Apparently it was a huge, luxurious condo too. Right in the centre of downtown, it was in a very prime location. Ichigo wasn't sure how helpful that would be to them, though. They needed the bad part of town. It would be near public transit, though. "It's probably really swanky, don't trash it." He wasn't sure if he was cautioning Takashi or Yoruichi. She did so love to get under Byakuya's skin. Sure enough, a little cat head popped out of Takashi's shirt.

"I can't hold a huge party? Tch, how sad. I think you can let me out now." She said and Takashi helped her out of his shirt. She found a spot on the floor beside Takashi's legs, fairly well concealed from the rest of the train. "That's better. Now, I admit to being terribly curious about you, young man. Tell me something about yourself." She said to Takashi who grimaced. Ichigo could sympathize, those kinds of questions could be very annoying. But then the pale skinned teenager suddenly grinned.

"I'll tell you about something that happened at the restaurant, how's that?" Takashi said before telling them a very colorful story about a woman who'd tried to scam the restaurant. It might have worked if Tanis hadn't been there, but as part owner she could be far more assertive than the people who worked for her. "You should have seen the look on her face! Her eyes bugged out like…" Takashi tried to do a bug eyed impression, forgetting his shades, and Ichigo laughed. "And then! Then I started laughing because it was just too funny! I have this really creepy laugh sometimes, let me see if I can do it…" Takashi suddenly cackled, a slightly raspy laugh that managed to sound incredibly perverted. "Like that!" Ichigo laughed even harder and Yoruichi was sniggering. "So then she FREAKED! She screamed something at me and threw a salt shaker at me! Then Tanis started calling the cops and she ran away." Takashi sounded rather sad at that conclusion. "She never paid her bill, either. The cops got her description though, maybe they'll catch her."

"I hope so, she sounds insane." Ichigo was highly entertained by the story. It seemed the restaurant business was not just serving people food. Takashi grimaced.

"Well, if you want my opinion, she was high on something. The other people in her group, they weren't exactly high class, y'know? Not that I have anything against jeans and t-shirts, but they should be clean. Oh well, it's not like we have a dress code." The restaurant was aiming for the 'fancy bistro' niche. A dress code would be too fancy for them. "Got any good stories from the clinic?"

"One, but it might be too gross." Ichigo said and Takashi laughed.

"Too gross for a former druggy? Come on, lay it on me." Ichigo laughed and started telling the story. Sure enough, it was quite gross, but not too much for Takashi. Yoruichi felt a bit differently.

"I really didn't need to hear about bathroom accidents." She complained and Takashi laughed. "Who cleaned it up?"

"Who do you think?" Ichigo sounded sour and the other teen and cat both winced. "Sometimes I hate being dad's kid. I did make him pay me extra for that, though."

"God, I'll say! That reminds me of the time we found this woman passed out in our washroom…" Takashi entertained them both with another story about the restaurant and Ichigo found that he was having a good time. The other teen was really very good company.

They finally arrived at Tokyo. Yoruichi took shelter in Takashi's shirt again, who pulled off the 'I have a really odd tumor' look with aplomb. Ichigo grinned a bit as he caught a few odd glances, but no one mentioned it as they exited the station. Then the other teen helped Yoruichi out and set her on his luggage. To both their surprise, the cat immediately jumped away.

"I'm going to do a bit of exploring while you two get settled at the condo." She said, her whiskers twitching. "I'll meet you there later." She said and Takashi looked a little taken aback.

"But it's a condo. How will you…?" Takashi trailed off as the cat bounded away and glanced at Ichigo. He just shrugged. How Yoruichi would get into the condo was her problem. "Oh well. Hey, are you hungry? There's a snack place right over there." It was a fast food joint, MOS burgers. Ichigo glanced over and nodded.

"I could do with one of their rice burgers." That was an interesting version of a hamburger. Instead of a normal bun, it was two rice patties with the beef in the middle. They both got rice burgers and Ichigo was just beginning to eat when he felt his shinigami badge go off. "Oh damn." He muttered. He didn't want to leave Kon in charge of his body with Takashi, but there wasn't much choice. Fishing out the mod soul – he'd taken him out of his plushy for the trip – he popped the candy in his mouth. Takashi dropped his rice burger, staring, but Ichigo was too caught up in his own concerns to notice. "Kon, this is Takashi, try not to freak him out too much. I'll be back in a moment."

"Sure thing." Kon said then grinned as he noticed the food. "Burgers!" He immediately bit down and Takashi found his voice.

"Hey, wait –" But Ichigo was already out the door. So he completely missed Takashi freaking out a bit on Kon.

He'd find out when he got back.

* * *

"What the fuck was that?!" Takashi demanded of the… person?... across from him. The other kid was looking at him wide eyed, the burger forgotten in his hand. "Who are you? You're not Ichigo!" He could tell that just by looking at him, although he didn't know how. The other just felt wrong. "Answer me!" His voice lowered to a growl as he leaned forward.

"Uh, I'm Kon, I'm a mod soul." Kon said, rather freaked out. The look on Takashi's face was threatening to say the least. "Ichigo just left me in charge of his body while he went to catch a hollow." That made Takashi frown.

"What for? Does he eat them?" He asked and Kon choked at the thought.

"Of course not! He's a shinigami." Kon hesitated as Takashi gave him a completely blank look. "You don't know what a shinigami is?"

"I… don't think so." Takashi said slowly. Although on some level, he thought he DID know. "They… hunt hollows… and send them to the afterlife?" That was what his instinctive knowledge was trying to tell him. Kon looked relieved.

"So you do know! Have you always been able to see ghosts?" He asked and Takashi frowned.

"Not until recently." Not until he'd eaten that pill, in fact. Until then he'd never believed in ghosts. Now he knew better. "Tell me about Ichigo. How long has he been a shinigami?"

"Well, it all started with Rukia…" Kon took a bite out of his burger before beginning to tell the story. It encompassed two whole years, so it took a while. Takashi got an odd feeling as he listened, a feeling that he knew this story. He even had a few flashes of images. Was Rukia a short girl with black hair and violet eyes? Did Renji have the most amazing hair and exotic tattoos? He almost asked but then held himself back. If he was right, that was just too weird.

Ichigo got back just as Kon was starting the part about Xcution. He stopped, taken aback, as he realized the two of them were looking right at him.

"Takashi? You can see me?" He said and the other teen just gave him a disgusted look before finishing off his rice burger.

"Yeah, I can, and you freaked me right the fuck out! I almost punched out your friend here." He said and Kon laughed before polishing off his rice burger. "Warn me next time!"

"Uh, sorry." Ichigo quickly took his body back, putting Kon's pill away. "Why didn't you tell me you were spiritually aware?" All this time he hadn't had a single hint that Takashi could see ghosts. The other teen scowled.

"Yeah, that would have been a great idea. 'Oh hey Ichigo, I stopped doing drugs and now I see ghosts, do you see them too? No, really, I'm not taking drugs, honest!'" Takashi sighed as Ichigo snerked, almost choking on his drink. "You can see why I don't talk about it much."

"Yeah, sorry." Ichigo said with a smile as he absorbed the implications. This was actually… good. Very good. He wouldn't have to try to hide any of his supernatural abilities from Takashi now. And this also explained why he'd accepted Yoruichi so easily. Ichigo had noticed that the talking cat hadn't freaked him out for long.

"Well, it sounds like you have a shitload of enemies. And here you were acting like you didn't know why anyone would want you dead." Takashi said as he took a deep drink of his soda. Ichigo frowned. "I know they're in the afterlife, but they can come here, right? You can't rule any of them out." To Takashi, it seemed obvious. Ichigo looked skeptical though.

"But killing my human body would just make me a shinigami or maybe a hollow. Then they'd have to deal with me more directly." He pointed out and Takashi frowned. The other teen had a point.

"Unless they just want revenge." He said, glancing back at the counter. Strangely, he felt hungry, and the real food was actually doing something to appease him. "I dunno. I'm going to get another burger if that's okay." The feeling that the food was working was strange, but he wasn't going to question it. He wondered what Ichigo would think if he knew his friend had been eating hollows to survive.

It was probably better not to go there.


	5. Pop Some Tags

"Swanky digs!" Takashi looked around the condo, immediately approving of it.

It was absolutely huge, just for starters. In fact, it took up this entire floor of the building, so swanky didn't begin to do it justice. Takashi had never imagined that condos could get this large.

"It has a water feature." Ichigo sounded stunned and Takashi followed his gaze to the huge, glass waterfall set in the wall. It was a coppery color and illuminated with several lights. Beautiful and soothing.

The whole condo was like that. The furniture was simple but in exquisite taste, and the decorations were expensive and lovely. Takashi stopped dead as he saw the kitchen.

"Ichigo! Look at that oven!" Takashi said in delight as he dropped his bags and began investigating the kitchen. "That's like the best oven you can get, it has to be custom made! Look at that range! This is a chef's kitchen!" Ichigo grinned at his sudden enthusiasm. "Is there food here? …Yes! The fridge is full! Can we eat this?" He asked, suddenly concerned, and Ichigo nodded.

"Byakuya said he would have the place fully stocked for us." Ichigo said and his new friend beamed before sorting through the fridge and pulling out some fresh tuna. Ichigo took his bags to one of the many, many rooms available. Quickly looking it over he decided it would be fine. The walls were a soft, creamy color and the bed had a very nice comforter with a pattern of blue and white. The pictures on the walls were oils, and full of flowers. Not entirely his style but very comfortable for a short stay. Setting his bag on the bed, he unzipped the suitcase.

Takashi nearly chopped his own fingers off when a scream rang out from the bedroom. Dropping the knife onto the cutting board, he sprinted towards the commotion.

"What is it?!" He stopped and stared as Ichigo threw a handful of clothes against the wall. They included lacy, frilly things that he couldn't picture the teen wearing. "Ichigo?"

"Demon cat! I'm going to kill her! Where are my clothes? I don't have any clothes!" Takashi blinked as he edged into the room and looked down into the suitcase. It was hard to tell for sure, but everything did look rather feminine. "Argh!"

"Okay, calm down. Let's sort this stuff out and see what you've got." Takashi said as soothingly as he could, vaguely wondering when he'd been nominated to be the sane one. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Ichigo got control of himself and they began sorting through the clothing together. "…Wow. She really did a number on you." After sorting everything they'd determined that Ichigo had one t-shirt, two sets of underwear, one pair of socks and some sweatpants. That was it, for what promised to be a fairly long stay. Takashi was estimating at least a week and it could go on longer. Ichigo ran his hands through his hair, gripping the orange strands in frustration.

"I don't have the money for this! Damn it, I'm going to kill her!" Ichigo groaned and Takashi tilted his head to one side, thinking. Then he grinned.

"Trust in me, little grasshopper. I'll get you kited up." He promised and Ichigo gave him a confused look. "It's too late tonight but tomorrow I'll find you some bargains! I know how to get cheap clothes." Takashi vividly remembered sorting through the clothes at the Karakura town thrift shop, trying to turn twenty bucks into a wardrobe. That had actually been a good time, during the bad times that twenty bucks would have gone straight to drugs. "You won't be stylish, but you'll be clothed." Ichigo sighed, putting away the few articles of clothing that were actually his.

"I guess it will have to do. I'm tempted to throw this stuff in the garbage and make her buy her own clothes." He grumped but Takashi shook his head, rescuing the female clothing.

"Nah, then she'd be modelling for you at the thrift store. And you know she'd come out naked just to mess with you." He said then wondered how he knew that. Then he blinked as something occurred to him. "Wait, that cat is a woman?" The voice had been very masculine but these clothes were definitely for a girl. Ichigo sighed.

"Yes, Yoruichi is a female shinigami. Her voice is just like that in her cat form, no one knows why. Where's the bedroom furthest from mine?" Working together, they found a bedroom on the far side of the condo. It was very nicely done in shades of green, and the bed was made out of dark wood, artistically carved. "She doesn't deserve a room this nice, but it'll do." Ichigo muttered as he helped put the clothes away. Takashi snickered but folded everything up neatly before putting it in the dresser.

Going back to the kitchen, Takashi kept working on his meal. He was going to make lightly seared tuna over a salad. Not exactly a fancy salad, but he chopped up some bell pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes and jicama and threw them all in. Then he put together the vinaigrette, mixing together olive oil, balsamic and some spicy mustard to thicken it and add a bit of a kick. Ichigo came back into the kitchen as he was working and watched, interested.

"There's an entertainment room if you want to watch something. The DVD collection is just enormous." He said and Takashi looked up with a smile. "And there's the biggest flat screen TV I've ever seen in my life." Ichigo was slightly in awe of the TV. He'd known Byakuya was rich, but the accommodations in Soul Society were very old fashioned. Here, he could see the luxuries of his time.

"That sounds like fun. Can you find a good horror flick? I love horror flicks." He confided in the teen, who laughed.

"I'm sure I can find some." And that was how they spent the evening, eating their tuna salads. Takashi had put on plenty of tuna. He was finding that his appetite for real food was increasing, although there was still an empty feeling inside. He would need to go look for a hollow soon.

That thought made him bite his lip and glance at Ichigo from the corner of his eye. The other teen was a shinigami, a death god. He sent hollows on to the afterlife. So what did that make him?

"Hey, Ichigo? Hollows eat each other to get stronger, right?" He asked casually and Ichigo nodded, his attention on the movie. "Is there anything else that eats hollows?"

"Not that I've ever heard of." He said and Takashi paused a moment before taking another bite of his salad. Then he deliberately kept eating and wondered what would happen if he didn't go find a hollow. This kind of food did ease his hunger a bit. Could he learn to live on it?

"…" Takashi turned his attention back to the movie and tried to concentrate. But his thoughts kept going back to the question of himself. It sounded like that pill must have contained a hollow of some kind, and he had absorbed that hollow… or, perhaps, it had absorbed him. Who was he, really? What was he?

The thought that he might be a hollow didn't alarm him, but it did make him wary. Ichigo sought out hollows to send them to the afterlife. What would the other teen do to him, if he knew what Takashi most likely was? Takashi wasn't too eager to find out what was waiting for him on the other side. He hadn't been killing kittens and setting nuns on fire evil, but he hadn't been a good person. Even now, his 'goodness' was highly questionable. After all, he wasn't helping people out of the goodness of his heart. He expected to get things in return.

"But doesn't everybody?" He mused to himself, then smiled. "Heh." The old Takashi, before he'd eaten that pill, hadn't done a single thing to help anyone but himself. Being helpful for any reason was a huge step up. Shrugging aside any thoughts of the afterlife and his own amoral nature, Takashi gave the movie his full attention. It was really creepy as hell, a depiction of a ghost that was really much nastier than most hollows. Although some hollows could be that nasty.

Sometimes, reality was scarier than fiction.

* * *

"I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket… here we are… under?... looking for a cummer, this is fucking awesome!" Takashi sang softly as he looked through the racks of clothes. Although they had a bit more than twenty dollars to play with. Ichigo's dad had given him a pre-paid VISA with five hundred dollars on it. That was mostly reserved for food, though, so they were trying to keep this well under a hundred. "I wish I could remember all the lyrics to that song." He muttered as he examined a pair of jeans. They were a bit tattered on the knees, and it looked like it was from normal wear. Still. "Hey Ichigo, want to try these on?"

"Sure." Ichigo added the new jeans to his growing pile of clothes. "I wonder where Yoruichi has gotten to?" The cat hadn't come back the next day. Takashi sniggered to himself at the thought, then winced as his stomach gave a twinge of pain.

Finding hollows in Tokyo was proving to be extremely difficult. Takashi would never have guessed – surely a small town would have fewer ghosts? – but it seemed Karakura town was a hotbed of supernatural activity. Tokyo wasn't and he'd spent a good three hours last night trying to locate any kind of hollow. He'd finally given up, gone home, and had a late night snack of cheese and dill pickles. It had helped but he really wasn't feeling great.

Trying to ignore the mild distress, he carried a bunch of clothes over to the change room. It was just a curtain hung on a circular rail, not even a booth. But the space in this thrift store was extremely limited. Pretty typical of Tokyo, really. Takashi grabbed the curtain and yanked it open, meaning to put the clothes in with the other ones they'd gathered.

Then he yelped and dropped the clothes. There was a woman in front of him – when the hell had she gotten in there? They'd put this room on hold! – and she was wearing only bright, pink, frilly underwear. That was it. There wasn't even a bra in sight.

"Oh, Takashi. Could you pass me that red sweater?" She asked, grinning at him wickedly. Takashi stumbled back, vaguely noticing that her hair was purple and her eyes were gold.

"YORUICHI! Oh my god, put some clothes on!" Takashi felt Ichigo's hands going over his shades, and could not be more grateful. For some reason, seeing a woman naked made him highly uncomfortable. He _knew_ that hadn't been his reaction when he was younger. When he was thirteen, seeing a woman like this naked would have been his fondest wet dream. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" There was a throaty chuckle and a rustle of cloth. Ichigo's hands fell down and Takashi was relieved to see a red sweater was in place. He could still see the frilly pink underwear, but he could handle that.

"Yeah, really, what the hell? And where have you been?" He demanded and the shinigami flashed him a quick smile as she pulled on some jeans.

"Oh, well, I couldn't get into the condo. Bya-kun has some very nice kido locks on it. So I just spent a night on the town and decided to get some clothes. Isn't this nice?" She twirled a little and Takashi looked the outfit over with a jaundiced eye.

"I dunno, having 'sexy bitch' written in sequins on my ass wouldn't be my style." Was his opinion. He wasn't picky, but that was going a bit far. Yoruichi looked surprised and tried to look over her shoulder. "Ya missed that?"

"I did! Oh my." She waggled her butt and Takashi winced as Ichigo turned beet red. "I'd better keep looking…" She wandered off towards the racks and Ichigo quickly grabbed the change room, pulling the curtain closed. Takashi leaned against a wall, hands in his pockets, as he waited for the other teen to try things on.

It didn't take long for him to settle on three pairs of jeans and six shirts. The jeans ranged from worn to ratty, but they were all five bucks each. The shirts were similarly cheap and in slightly better shape, leaving aside the sweat stains. Takashi found him a nice belt for the pants. But that left a few important things.

"Thrift shops don't sell underwear because no one but filthy druggies would buy it." Takashi said with a grin. He knew, back in the day, he wouldn't have hesitated to wear someone's old underwear. He had not been at all fastidious. "So for that, we need to hit up the mall." There would be some department store selling things cheaply. "And maybe you could pick up a pair of slacks and a nice shirt, in case we need to look good." Takashi had planned for that eventuality himself. His luggage included some black pants and a white dress shirt with a suitably boring tie. "So hey, weren't you going to kill the cat woman?" He hadn't even yelled at her too much. Ichigo grunted.

"There's no point. She does whatever she wants and doesn't care when I get upset. Just like a cat…" He grumbled and Takashi laughed, glancing around. Yoruichi had gotten her own change room and was trying on a new pair of more suitable jeans.

"You about done, girl?" He called to her and she just opened the curtain, showing off her second pair of jeans. They were nearly new and fit her like a second skin. "How much are those?" He asked. They looked to be on the expensive side for a thrift shop. She checked the tag.

"Only twenty dollars." She said cheerfully and Takashi wondered if she thought Ichigo was paying. "We can just add them to Ichigo's things!"

"No way!" Ichigo immediately protested and Takashi sighed to himself. Of course she thought Ichigo was paying. "I only have five hundred for the whole trip! Pay for them yourself!" Yoruichi looked slightly hurt, which Takashi thought was just acting.

"But I don't have any money. I can't carry a credit card as a cat." She pointed out and Takashi frowned. That was actually a good point.

"Pfft. I'll pay for it. Just pay me back later." He said abruptly. He could handle thirty dollars, or however much it would come out to be with tax. They both glanced at him, surprised, and he shrugged. "I have about a hundred bucks in cash on me." He couldn't get a credit card without someone cosigning, and no one was dumb enough to do that.

"But you're supporting yourself – oh, just give them here." Takashi blinked as Ichigo took the clothes and took the whole thing to the register. He followed, feeling baffled. Why had he done that? Although he wasn't sure why he'd agreed to pay for the things in the first place. It had just been an impulse.

After that they quickly went to the closest department store and picked up the rest of the things they needed. Yoruichi wanted to buy a necklace there, but she got firmly vetoed by both the teens. They brought all the purchases home and finally got down to business.

"So I was looking around last night, Ichigo. There was something odd stalking the streets – " She glanced at Takashi and he felt slightly uncomfortable. She couldn't be referring to his late night activities, could she? "But that doesn't seem to be related. Other than that, I couldn't really find anything supernatural going on."

"We should probably look up Yukio first. I have trouble believing it's him, I didn't think he really had a grudge against me, but he's the only person I can think of." Ichigo said unhappily and Yoruichi nodded.

"That'll be a job for you, cat. I have no idea how to find people." Takashi said cheerfully before taking a sip of tea. "I figured me and Ichigo could go to the slums and start beating information out of people. I even brought a scarf for him!"

"Wait, what?" Ichigo said, confused and Takashi grinned. "A scarf?"

"Well, since you didn't take my advice about dying your traffic cone hair, you need something to hide it." He explained as the other teen started to look pissed off. "Come on, we're going to be asking questions about the hit on you. If your hair is flaming like that it's going to be so freakin' obvious who we are!"

"It will be fairly obvious anyway, but he does have a point Ichigo. Your hair is very distinctive." Yoruichi put in and Ichigo subsided with a few muttered insults.

"Is it like part of your identity or something? It's just hair… anyway." Takashi said hastily as Ichigo shot him a murderous look. "What d'you want for lunch? We're here so we should eat again before we go out." Even fast food restaurants added up and they had this nice condo with lots of food.

"What would you like to make?" Yoruichi asked and Takashi grinned before going to check out the fridge. He wanted something relatively quick. Meat went bad, so there were only a few things thawed out and they'd already decimated the tuna.

"We've got a few steaks here, or some chicken breasts. Hey, I could make chicken tenders." That idea pleased him and he pulled out the chicken breasts. "And some rainbow chard." He had a nice stack of it in the fridge. It didn't take him long to chop up the breasts and give them a quick spice coating. Then he fried them, as he worked on the swiss chard. Takashi was vaguely aware of Yoruichi and Ichigo talking about something, but the food commanded his attention. "Hey Ichigo, can you get the rice cooker going?" He hadn't thought about that last night, so they had no prepared rice and he didn't feel like making it right now. But it might be good to have that ready for supper. The rice cooker was the snazziest digital type, so it would make the rice and hold it for them.

"Sure." Ichigo quickly found the measuring cup and began measuring out the rice. "Two cups?" Takashi frowned as he thought about it.

"Make it three. I can always use the extra for breakfast tomorrow." He said and Ichigo nodded, getting it ready. "Okay, I think this is done." The swiss chard didn't take long, when you knew how to do it. And he'd cut the chicken into strips to speed the cooking. Yoruichi cheerfully set the table as Takashi got everything into two serving dishes and set them out. The kitchen was so big that they could move around each other easily.

"These strips are good. They have a bite to them." Yoruichi complimented him as they ate and Takashi smiled. "What did you use?"

"Frank's Red Hot sauce. I put that shit on everything!" He said and they both laughed.

The food vanished quickly, and then they split up for the rest of the day. Takashi and Ichigo took the train to the worst part of town and Takashi did his best to start making contacts, as Ichigo got a less than savory education. Takashi almost regretted exposing him to this, but it could always be useful in the future.

"You're not going to use that, are you?" Ichigo asked in an undertone as Takashi put away his purchase. It was a nice bit of marijuana.

"Nah. I wouldn't have even bought it, but you heard the guy." The last guy they'd spoken to had some useful information, but he hadn't been willing to part with it unless they made a purchase. Takashi had figured that would happen sooner or later which was why he'd brought the money. "Find a good dumpster and I'll toss it." Marijuana had never been his poison of choice, although he'd started with it. But his tastes had run to far more dangerous and expensive things. Ichigo looked relieved and soon the baggy had joined some moldering bananas and other miscellaneous trash. "So now we know at least one guy who's talking about the contract on you. Now we'll just have to find him." That might take a while. Ichigo nodded.

"We should probably get Yoruichi on that." He said. Then he frowned, glancing around. Takashi felt the same wariness. Things were too quiet all of a sudden. Then he licked his lips as he suddenly sensed a hollow reiatsu. "Damn. Takashi, just stay here, okay?" Ichigo reached for his pill and Takashi couldn't help but make a whining sound. There was a meal so close and Ichigo was going to take it away! The teen gave him a startled look and Takashi realized he was losing it.

"Uh, r-right. You… do that." Grimacing, he wrapped an arm around stomach. It felt like he was getting bad cramps. Ichigo looked very concerned, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" He asked, then frowned. "The hollow is close." He muttered and Takashi bit his lip, trying to pull in his hunger. Fortunately Ichigo was bad at reiatsu sensing or he would have realized the hollow he was scenting was _extremely_ close… as in, right beside him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Takashi managed. He'd deal with it. He couldn't let Ichigo know about his eating habits. "You go take care of it." How he wished he could get Ichigo to stay right here and let him take care of it, but the teen just wouldn't understand. Taking a deep breath, Takashi managed to settle himself as Ichigo took his pill and ran off to find the hollow. "Hey Kon. This place sucks, watch your step." They were in a particularly nasty alleyway, covered in grime and other, nastier things. The mod soul looked around, appalled.

"Ewww! What are you guys doing in a place like this?" He asked and Takashi shrugged.

"Buying drugs and killing people for fun and profit." He said and Kon looked horrified. "Actually, we're just getting information. But Ichigo needs to go kill a hollow." Takashi was feeling a bit better now, and he felt even better when the taunting hollow reiatsu vanished.

"You know he likes you, right?" Kon said and Takashi blinked behind his shades. "Ichigo I mean. He really likes you." Kon was looking at him intently and Takashi swallowed.

"Yeah, well, I like him too." He admitted and the mod soul smiled. They might have talked more but then Ichigo got back. "Hey, you got it?" Ichigo nodded with a small smile.

"It was very weak, no problem at all. Let's swap back." He quickly took his body back from Kon before pocketing the pill again. Then they kept walking, but Takashi's mind was a million miles away. Ichigo liked him? He'd thought so, but he hadn't been sure. The question was, what should he do about it?

He would have to think hard about that.


	6. Sex!

Two days later.

Takashi narrowed his eyes as he glared at the TV screen. He was absolutely determined to win this game. He wasn't sure where the competitive streak about something as silly as a video game came from, but he was going to win. If he could just figure out how.

It was tough going, because Ichigo clearly knew this game much better than he did. Takashi hissed as his hit points just kept going down and down. He had a great attack and he was building up for it, but he had to launch it at just the right time…

Fortunately, he was not above fighting dirty. Takashi glanced at Ichigo carefully and saw that he was fully absorbed in the game. He also looked pretty sexy, frowning slightly in concentration. Takashi kept most of his attention on the game but leaned over and at just the right moment, licked the shell of Ichigo's ear.

The teen's eyes went wide and Takashi launched his final attack. The power he'd built up was enormous and Ichigo completely missed blocking it. Takashi yelped in triumph as the victory music played. Then he yelped in pain as a fist hit him in his side.

"Takashi, you bastard! That was dirty!" Ichigo snarled, a light flush on his cheeks. Takashi rubbed his side before giving him a grin.

"Hey, it worked. All's fair in love and war, right?" Takashi hesitated, but only for a brief moment. He knew what he wanted and he was going to take it. So instead of laughing it off or making a joke, he slid onto his knees and leaned closer to a startled Ichigo. "And I've been wanting to do that for a while." He murmured, reaching up to cup a perfect cheek. Ichigo stared at him for a moment, his brown eyes wide. Then white lips caught the teen's in a gentle kiss.

Takashi didn't want to be gentle. A deep, primitive instinct urged him to take, to claim, to dominate. But a more intelligent instinct said that would be a mistake. Ichigo was a shinigami, not a hollow, and he might not understand.

So he kept it gentle, gentle but passionate. Ichigo's lips were warm and responsive and Takashi slid a hand behind the teen's head before deepening the kiss. He wordlessly asked for permission and Ichigo gave it, opening his mouth slightly. Their tongues dipped together and Takashi could taste mint, the breath wash Ichigo used every morning. It tasted good.

"Takashi, I'm – I'm not sure about this." Ichigo said as they parted, both of them breathless. "Are you clean?" Takashi had to grin. Trust the son of a doctor to think about that.

"I've had my first STD test, but not the second. So I could have something." He said honestly. Some diseases had an incubation period. "But I'm pretty sure I'm clean. And I have these." He pulled a little foil wrapped item out of his pocket, making Ichigo's eyes widen. "I've been hoping…" He shrugged a little and the other teen smiled.

"You're horrible. Do you have lube too?" He said teasingly, tangling his hands in Takashi's shirt and pulling him in for another kiss. Takashi savored it, his heart beating faster. It looked like he was getting lucky tonight.

"Of course. It's in my room though." He said when they parted. "Might be better to go there anyway." Yoruichi wasn't home yet but that could change and it would be way too easy for her to walk in on them here. Ichigo nodded.

"That sounds good." They went to his room hand in hand and Takashi smiled in pleasure. This was going to be great.

As soon as they were inside the room, Takashi pressed Ichigo against a nearby wall. He knew what he wanted to do first, and it wouldn't require condoms or lube. Ichigo gave him a confused and adorable look as he fell to his knees. Then brown eyes went wide as Takashi caught the zipper of his jeans with his teeth. He pulled it down in a slow, teasing motion.

One thing he was very, very good at was blowjobs. That had always been his preferred method of earning money, since it hurt less than an actual fuck. He'd never enjoyed it before today, though. Takashi slid down Ichigo's underwear and claimed his prize, breathing across the sensitive flesh before taking it in his mouth. He heard Ichigo groan and savored the sound, teasing the other teen with the motion of his tongue followed by intense suction.

He tasted good. That was different, too. Memories said he'd never liked the taste, before. Maybe it was because he was doing this willingly? But Takashi abandoned those thoughts, just concentrating on driving his partner insane. He took Ichigo deep in his throat, deliberately tightening the muscles there. The sound the other teen made was delicious, needy and desperate.

"Oh god, Takashi…" Ichigo said, his voice breathy with pleasure. Takashi ghosted his fingers over his inner thighs before letting them trail over his sac. Then he cupped the heavy balls, bouncing them lightly in his hands. "Takashi!" Ichigo's hands were on his shoulders now, his fingers biting in. Takashi didn't mind. He was enjoying this.

It didn't take much more to bring the redhead over the edge. Takashi swallowed everything with the ease of long practice and pulled away, breathing heavily as he looked up. Ichigo was bracing himself against the wall, his knees weak. The flush on his cheek and his wide, chocolate brown eyes were beautiful. Takashi smiled as he stood up, giving the teen a deep and passionate kiss.

"We're not done yet." He murmured and saw Ichigo swallow, his adam's apple bobbing with the motion. It was too enticing, and he took the opportunity, licking and nibbling at Ichigo's throat. He found a sensitive spot there and sucked on it, much to the teen's pleasure. "Mmm… the bed." He muttered as he pulled away. This was great, but they needed the bed.

"R-Right." Ichigo said breathlessly, his eyes hazed with lust. He sat on the bed as Takashi began to undress himself. He made it as teasing as possible, stripping the shirt away in a smooth move and revealing the hard muscles beneath. Ichigo was staring at him when he looked back. "You must work out a lot." He murmured and Takashi grinned.

"Not as much as you'd think." He seemed to be naturally blessed with this physique. Since he'd eaten that pill, anyway. Then he started working on his jeans, sliding them down to reveal light blue boxers. Then he hooked his fingers under those, sliding them away, revealing his full glory. A quick glance at Ichigo showed him that the other teen was looking a bit apprehensive. Takashi could guess what was going through his mind. _Can that really fit?_ Something along those lines. He'd felt the exact same way, the first time.

Quickly getting out the lube and condom, he slid onto the bed beside him. Takashi favored his new lover with a devilish grin before setting the items aside and getting down to business. He wasn't going to rush this, oh no. He was going to make this a night to remember.

And he did. He slid his hands over warm, pliant skin, teasing the other teen in all the right places. Worshipping his body, exploring every inch of it. Ichigo moaned softly as a warm, wet mouth descended on one of his nipples, teasing the flesh into hardness. Then the other nipple received the same treatment.

"You're fucking gorgeous, Ichigo." He murmured as he let go of the second nipple with a pop. Ichigo looked down at him, his brown eyes smoldering.

"That's handsome to you." He said and Takashi grinned before moving up for a kiss. Then he was grabbing the lube. Slathering it on his hand, he reached behind Ichigo to prepare him. "Umph…" That wasn't an entirely pleased sound, not to his surprise. Takashi looked into Ichigo's face and saw his eyes were tightly closed and he was biting his bottom lip.

"Relax, Ichi." He said soothingly, slowly exploring him with a single finger. He was so tight in there, it was unbelievable. Virgin tight. That thought made his already hard cock twitch, but it meant he had to take his time. "Relax. This will hurt if you're tense." He needed to get Ichigo relaxed and supple. The other teen nodded and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. Takashi added a second finger, stretching him further and watched as Ichigo swallowed again.

Then questing fingers found what they were looking for and Ichigo's hips abruptly bucked against his hand. Takashi grinned in amusement as Ichigo's eyes shot open, shocked brown orbs looking at him.

"Never felt that before, huh? That's your prostate." He purred, although Ichigo probably knew that. He was a doctor's son, after all. Ichigo just gasped then moaned as a third finger joined the other two. Takashi took his time, but finally judged the other teen was ready. And he couldn't wait much longer. His own body had needs. Pulling his fingers away, he quickly unfurled the condom and coated himself with lube. That bit of preparation done, he positioned himself and eased inside.

"Ah…! Shit, Takashi!" Ichigo cried out in mingled pain and pleasure. Takashi took his time, kissing away a few errant tears as he waited for his lover to adjust.

"When I'm done with you, you'll never want anyone else." He whispered, his voice full of dark promises that made Ichigo shiver. Takashi wondered, though, where that bravado came from. Did he really think he was that good? But part of him was sure he was. Then he was moving, taking Ichigo with a slow, steady rhythm.

Silky walls surrounded him, beautifully tight and warm. Takashi lost himself then, surrendering to the animal instincts that lived within him. He was vaguely aware of a power rising around him, thick and heavy with dark sweetness, but he didn't care. All that mattered was the body under him, the look on Ichigo's face and the incredible heat gripping his cock.

"Takashi." Ichigo gasping his name was sexy as hell. Takashi grunted softly and increased his pace, hands gripping his ass to pull him closer.

"Ichigo." His own voice had an odd, echoing tone. But it didn't matter and Ichigo didn't care. Long legs wrapped firmly around his waist as Takashi thrust with all the power in his body. The instincts within him were rising to a howl, urging him to claim, to take, to mark his mate. Takashi obeyed them without thought, his teeth leaving behind red welts on Ichigo's throat. And Ichigo seemed to be caught by the same fever, his nails leaving bloody trails in pale, nearly white skin.

"Harder, faster, oh god…" Ichigo sounded desperate, full of need and Takashi managed to obey, finding a bit more speed and force. "Uhn, ah!" Ichigo's cock was so full it was ready to burst, and Takashi gripped the straining flesh, giving him a single, forceful squeeze. "AH!" That took the other teen over the edge and Takashi groaned as hot muscles clenched tight around him, milking him for his release. He couldn't resist that silent command and came with a heavenly feeling. This was nothing like the other times he'd made love. It was better, amazing, wonderful…

They lay together for a moment, breathing heavily, before Takashi pulled away. Ichigo made a small noise of disappointment but Takashi knew it was necessary. If he got soft in the other teen, the condom would be pointless. Carefully pulling off the bit of plastic, he rolled it up and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. Then he slid into bed beside Ichigo. To his amusement, he could see that he was already dozing off.

"Mine." He whispered into one beautiful ear, just looking into his lover's face. "You're mine, now." Takashi vaguely wondered where that possessiveness was coming from. He'd never felt like this about his previous lovers. But he wasn't going to question it.

Ichigo was his, now.

* * *

The next morning, Takashi stirred as the light hit his eyes.

He was still wearing his shades. He could wear them even in the dark, and they didn't seem to impede his sight any. So he could see Ichigo clearly, even in the darkened room.

The other teen was lying on his side, stretched out and looking very comfortable. Takashi just watched him, smiling as the sunbeam from the crack in the curtains slowly moved, illuminating bright orange hair. He let his gaze travel down, sliding over great pecs and sculpted abs. The blanket had fallen down sometime in the night and was pooled around Ichigo's waist, but Takashi could see a tantalizing line of orange fuzz.

Then the sunbeam went a bit lower and Ichigo made a small, protesting sound as his eyelids fluttered. Warm brown eyes opened and Takashi reached out to tenderly touch his hair, running his fingertips through the soft strands.

"Good morning, handsome." He said, his voice warm with all the emotion his cold heart could muster. And it was really a lot of emotion. He'd caught himself a great lover (_mate_) and he was feeling happy with the world.

"Good morning." Ichigo said sleepily and snuggled down lower on the bed, trying to outrun the sunbeam. Takashi smiled, then stiffened in horror as a voice rang out from the door.

"Good morning boys! My, what a wonderful view!" Takashi yelped and grabbed the blanket, yanking it up to cover his naked derriere. Then he glared over his shoulder at the demon cat who had been ogling him. Yoruichi was in her human form and grinning widely. "I'm making pancakes, would you like some?"

"Yes please." Takashi forgot about his affronted dignity. Sustenance came first. "Three for me." He glanced at Ichigo, who was looking rather amused. But then, his body had been hidden behind Takashi.

"Two here. Now go away, we need to get dressed." He said and Yoruichi grinned before closing the door. Her laugh floated to them quite clearly and Ichigo shook his head. "Perverted demon cat."

"She sure is." Takashi agreed, getting out of bed. It was his room and he quickly pulled on a pair of pants. "Just stay here, I'll get your stuff." Ichigo's room was right across the way. He could probably just have run to it naked, but Yoruichi around that would be a bit dangerous.

"If you could." Ichigo yawned and Takashi was amused to see he was already dozing off when he got back. Settling the clothes down on a chair, he leaned over to give his new lover a gentle kiss on the cheek. Ichigo opened his eyes again and sighed. "I guess I should get up." He murmured before carefully prying himself out of the bed. "Ow." He winced at the pain and Takashi nodded sympathetically.

"Sorry about that. Give it a few hours and it should get better." That was all it had taken him, the few times he'd been fucked gently. Most of the time he'd been left raw and bleeding. But he'd just self-medicated with more drugs. Ichigo gave him a small smile.

"It's okay, I'll manage." Takashi got on the rest of his clothes as Ichigo dressed, occasional shooting him glances. Seeing someone get undressed was sexy, and seeing them getting dressed again, well, that was also sexy. It was over very quickly, though, and Takashi regretfully tore his gaze away. "I smell something burning." Ichigo said and Takashi sniffed the air before swearing and bolting for the kitchen.

"Damn! Turn on the fans, open the windows, we don't need the fire alarm going off!" Takashi quickly grabbed the frying pan from a rather frustrated Yoruichi. "What are you doing? You have this on high!" That was a much higher setting than he would have used for pancakes. And the pancakes themselves didn't look that great, full of lumps. "Oi, let me do this." He said firmly. The restaurant didn't serve pancakes, but he was sure he could do better than this.

"Sorry. I thought it wouldn't be so hard…" Yoruichi retired from the kitchen, actually looking slightly ashamed. Takashi frowned as he looked at the pancake batter. She'd clearly been stirring it by hand, which was great if you were persistent. But this kitchen came with all the best gadgets.

"Here, let me show you how to use the mixer." He quickly plugged in the very nice mixer and began fixing up the pancake mix. It had come out of a box, so the ingredients were alright, the main problem was the consistency. "You cook these on medium or medium-high." He dropped plenty of butter into the pan before dropping in spoonfuls of mix. It was a huge pan on a big element, and could probably take four at once. "There we go."

"You make it all look so easy." Yoruichi said with a smile and Ichigo snorted as he poured himself some tea before speaking softly.

"Because it is – ow!" Not quite softly enough. Takashi grinned but didn't give the squabbling shinigami much attention. He didn't want his pancakes to burn.

Soon they were all munching on fresh pancakes, drizzled with real maple syrup. The maple syrup was a revelation to Takashi. When he'd been growing up they'd used the cheapest type of maple syrup, which was actually something else entirely. The restaurant wasn't open for breakfast, and Tanis' family rarely had pancakes for breakfast. When they did, it was the same old faux syrup. Now he was tasting the real thing, and the flavor was about a hundred times better.

"I'm gonna have to get some of this for Tanis." He murmured to himself. It would be expensive, though. He might have to wait until his debts were paid off. "Ugh." He hated to think about his debts. They pulled him back into that world he was determined to leave.

"I've managed to locate Yukio." Yoruichi said, taking a sip of her tea. Both of them looked at her, startled. "He's running his company and from what I can see, he's highly successful. I've arranged a meeting with him."

"You don't think it's him, do you?" Takashi asked and Yoruichi shook her head.

"Honestly, no. It didn't take much to convince him to meet with us. It's hard to tell with that boy, but I think he feels grateful towards you." She said to Ichigo who sighed, looking into his tea. Takashi could imagine what was going through his mind. He didn't really want to kill Yukio, but he wanted to go home. He wanted this problem to go away, and if Yukio was a dead end they were going to be here longer.

"Maybe he'll have some information. Xcution seemed a bit on the dirty side, right?" Takashi said optimistically, trying to cheer his friend up. It wasn't much of a success and Takashi wondered if it was just the lack of progress bothering him. Or was it something else?

"Is something wrong?" He asked quietly as they walked down to the train station. Ichigo glanced at him, looking almost melancholy.

"You mean, besides everything?" He said, then reached out to touch the edge of Takashi's shades. The teen hesitated but let him. "You wear those even to bed?" There was a strange edge to his voice that Takashi didn't understand.

"Usually, no. But they're not that pretty, it wouldn't have been sexy." Takashi said, fudging the truth just a bit. He thought his eyes weren't that bad, but they were rather freaky. Ichigo gave him a searching look followed by a small smile.

"I wouldn't mind if your eyes had veins popping out like Geordi's, you know." He said with better humor and Takashi smiled. "When will you show them to me?" That made Takashi hesitate. Something told him that letting Ichigo see his eyes would be a terrible idea, but he didn't know why.

"Someday soon." He finally said, resolving that he would show Ichigo his eyes someday. He couldn't hide this forever, whatever this was. The teen looked relieved and Takashi wondered, uneasily, if Ichigo would recognize his eyes. Something inside told him it was quite likely. Pushing aside the uncomfortable thought, he concentrated on navigating the train. It was incredibly packed and he felt like a sardine in a tin. "I don't mind being this close to you, but I don't like being this close to everyone else." He murmured in Ichigo's ear, making the teen laugh softly.

They finally reached their stop, which was in an industrial area of the city. It was a long walk after that, but they'd budgeted time for it. They arrived at the meeting point ten minutes early. It was a manufacturing building of some sort, and Takashi had to hold back a bit of drool as he realized what they were making.

"Soylent Green Nature Bars! I love those things." He confided in Ichigo, who choked a little. "What?" He asked, perplexed, as Yoruichi giggled.

"You don't know where the name comes from, do you?" Ichigo asked and Takashi just blinked. He honestly had no idea, although it was a really weird name. He'd figured it was some English thing. "It's from a movie. Soylent Green is made out of people."

"Oh. Really? Well, I'm guessing the bars aren't." Takashi said with a grin. Not that he would object to eating bars made out of people, really. The thought didn't attract him, but it didn't repulse him either. "Maybe I can get some samples." He would love it if he could. That would just make his day.

Yukio wasn't waiting for them, he was busy inspecting the plant. But an aide immediately took them to him. He was examining some machines thoughtfully. They weren't in use, which struck Takashi as interesting. It was the middle of the day.

"Ah, Ichigo." He turned to look at them and Takashi was surprised to see he was holding some kind of game boy thing. But Ichigo and Yoruichi seemed to take it in stride. "Who are these?" He glanced them both over, pausing for a moment on Yoruichi. Takashi, he dismissed immediately. He frowned, feeling mildly insulted.

"This is Yoruichi, she's a shinigami. And this is my friend, Takashi." Ichigo introduced him and Takashi waved. "Um… this is a bit difficult to ask…" Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and Takashi snickered. It was a bit hard to bring up.

"Let me do it." He said and turned to the boy. Yukio gave him a look and Takashi realized the other boy really didn't like him. Which was odd, given that they'd just met. "See, someone's hiring guys to try and kill Ichi here. One of the few frenemies he's got in the real world is you, so we figured we'd have a chat to see if you're doing things you shouldn't." He explained and Ichigo winced. Yukio's eyes widened for a moment.

"Of course not! What an absurd idea." He looked at Ichigo sharply, then suddenly began tapping on his console. Black lines suddenly appeared out of nowhere and enfolded a startled Takashi.

"HEY! What the fu-" That was all he got out before the box enclosed him. Yoruichi stared and Ichigo scowled at the black box with the 'saving' icon.

"What did you do that for?" His friend and lover wasn't exactly tactful, but this seemed a little harsh. Yukio just shrugged.

"I don't like him. There's something strange about him." Yukio explained before grimacing. "Something… hollow like. Are you certain he's trustworthy?" He asked and Ichigo frowned, glancing at Yoruichi. His reiatsu sensing was poor, but hers was excellent. She nodded.

"He does have a very hollow reiatsu, but it's been getting fainter since we arrived in Tokyo. I thought perhaps it was some kind of residue from a hollow attack in Karakura town." She said and Ichigo relaxed a bit. That was a reasonable explanation.

"Well, whatever. He won't even be aware in there and now we can talk. What's been happening? Someone's trying to murder you?" Yukio asked and Ichigo began to explain the situation. They were all unaware that something was happening in the box.

But they would be finding out shortly.

* * *

"Where am I?" Takashi whispered as he turned around. It was like he was enfolded in utter darkness. That darkness was oppressive, weighing on him like a shroud. "Shit." He breathed, trying to think of some way to get out of this. Was Ichigo in danger?

(_leave_ _the body_)

Takashi stopped, frozen. That thought had been so distinct, so _real._ And it hadn't sounded like his voice. "Who are you?" He said, his voice shaking. "Are you the hollow I ate?" It had to be the pill, it had to be.

_(idiot)_

_(Takashi is dead)_ His eyes went wide at that and he looked over himself. He didn't look dead…

_(you are you)_ Takashi gasped as white, thick and heavy and creamy, began to flow out of his mouth. It didn't feel real, and it didn't hurt.

_(and you have… no name)_

* * *

"…So there have been some changes in Tokyo recently." Yukio finished and Yoruichi nodded as Ichigo scowled.

"But why would some new Yakuza boss want me dead?" Ichigo wondered. From what Yukio had told them, there had been a major upheaval in the Tokyo underworld recently. Someone new had assumed control of a small syndicate, in a very violent manner. And some of the violence had been rather inexplicable. Supernatural forces could possibly be involved.

"I don't know but the timing is very – " Yukio stopped as his game console began to beep. Looking into it, he frowned. "Error? What the hell is going on." He mumbled as he tapped on some keys. Then he stopped, his eyes going wide, before shooting Ichigo an accusing look. "What is he?"

"What?" Ichigo said blankly, glancing over at the black box. To his surprise, the 'saving' icon had been replaced with a large 'error' one. The letters were bright red and flashing irregularly.

"What the hell is he?! He's building up a massive pressure inside the save! It's going to – " That was as far as Yukio got before the save exploded.

Black and red power flared, followed by a flash of white. A white hand slapped against Yukio's face and there was a wicked laugh as red light began to build in that palm. Yukio's eyes widened as he looked into black and gold eyes, but there was nothing he could do to stop the monster that had him in its grip.

But then a kido hit them. It was aimed so neatly that it slapped the hollow's hand away but left Yukio unharmed. He fell to the ground, slightly singed and terrified, but alive. He scrambled away as the white form turned to look at Yoruichi, scowling.

"What? Wasn't he killing you or something?" He said before giving Ichigo a grin. The teen was out of his body and pointing Zangetsu at him. "Hello there, my former King." The hollow said mockingly and Ichigo scowled. There was pain and a deep fury in his eyes.

"I knew it. I should never have trusted you." He said, his voice hard. "Was it you all along? Was Takashi nothing but a lie?" He asked and his hollow tilted his head to one side, as if he was thinking about it. "Was all this garbage about someone trying to kill me just another lie?" The hollow blinked slowly, then grinned.

"I've told you nothing but the truth, King. We're still connected right now, and if you died I would be inconvenienced." The hollow padded towards him on silent feet and as he got closer, Ichigo noticed something disturbing. His hollow didn't really look like him anymore. His face was thinner and had a subtly different shape. And when he smiled, his teeth were slightly crooked. They looked alike enough to be brothers, but they were no longer twins. His hollow stopped when the point of his weapon touched him and reached down, stroking the blunt edge of Zangetsu like he was greeting a long lost friend. "As for Takashi… heh. Ichigo." Ichigo scowled harder at the sound of his name. His hollow gave it the same smoky desire that Takashi had last night. "Memories are more than something in your soul. They're part of your body, part of the patterns built into your mind. How else could a blow to the head take them away?" The hollow paused, then gestured towards the limp body on the ground. "When I ate that drug addicted little whore, I claimed his body as well. All his memories became mine, and something your shinigami friend did kept me from remembering myself. So I became Takashi. Was it nothing but a lie? Perhaps. But if so, it was a lie I was telling myself." The hollow shrugged, taking a step back. "Tch. I should have stayed in that box. But I do so hate to be imprisoned."

"Ichigo, what is this thing?" Yukio said, finding his voice. It was Yoruichi who answered as the hollow walked over to his body, looking at it thoughtfully.

"It's Ichigo's hollow half." She said. Ichigo shot her a glance. She seemed to be taking this very calmly. "I suspected it was him at the train station, but I wasn't sure." The hollow was kneeling now, white hands sliding around Takashi's neck, fingers linked behind that delicate throat.

"It would be so easy to break this." He murmured and Ichigo stiffened. But if his hollow chose to do that, it would be nearly impossible to stop him. "We're still connected. I would go back to your inner world… but even being human is better than that. No, I'll take this." He lifted his head and glanced at Ichigo, a sly smile tugging on his lips. "Be gentle with me, Ichigo. As soon as I return to my body, I'll believe I'm Takashi again. I wonder if I'll even believe you, when you try to tell me…?" The hollow's mocking laughter rang out, before he dissolved into a thick white substance. That creamy liquid flowed back into the body, sliding home with a faint and rather sickening squish. Then the body suddenly took a breath.

"Nnngh." Takashi moaned softly, trying to flip himself over. He succeeded in getting to his hands and knees before noticing that everyone was staring at him. Ichigo was giving him a hard look that made him feel rather uncomfortable. "What? I… argh…" He pressed a hand against his stomach and whimpered. "Oh shit." He felt achingly empty, with a coldness at his core. "Hey… can I have a Soylent Green bar? I need… something… fuck." He groaned as his body clenched and heaved. But nothing came up but a bit of bile. "Feel really bad." He mumbled, his lips cold and clammy. What had just happened? The last thing he could remember was the white stuff. Then there was a hand against his forehead and he looked up to see Yoruichi kneeling beside him.

"His reiatsu is extremely low. I'll give him an infusion…" Her voice became garbled and Takashi blinked heavily, trying to listen. But then his eyesight started to go, everything going strange and twisted at the edges. Unconsciousness was beckoning and fighting just didn't seem worth it.

He hardly felt Yoruichi catch him as he fell into darkness.


	7. Yet More Sex!

Ichigo gripped Zangetsu's hilt, watching as Yoruichi took care of Takashi.

They were back at the condo. Yukio had called his private chauffeur to take them home, since Takashi was very stubborn about staying unconscious. Now the pale man was sprawled out on his bed as Yoruichi tried to revive him.

"Calm down, Ichigo." She said soothingly and Ichigo's eyes narrowed.

"Calm down? Are you joking?" He glared at the limp, peaceful form. Yoruichi had removed his glasses, but they hadn't seen Takashi's eyes yet. But he knew what they would look like. "You know what happened last night." He couldn't help the pain in his voice. He felt deeply betrayed. Yoruichi glanced up at him with a small frown.

"If your hollow was telling the truth, he didn't know what he was. We'll have to consult with Urahara, but I really wouldn't be surprised if he was very confused." She said and Ichigo frowned. "He hasn't been acting like a hollow. That was why I decided it probably wasn't him." She'd suspected when she caught a ride in his shirt, but the way he'd behaved afterwards and the fading of his reiatsu had made her think otherwise. Ichigo frowned, hard.

"Maybe, but we still can't trust him. He – " The teen stopped as Takashi's eyelids fluttered. They both watched as he blinked, revealing dazed, inhuman eyes.

"Ohhh. Haven't felt this bad since the last time I was in withdrawal." He muttered, pushing himself up. "Why are you both staring at me? …Oh." He reached up to adjust his glasses and paled as he found that the shades weren't there. He looked at Ichigo, swallowing hard as he took in the soul reaper robes, the sword in his hand and the scowl on his face. Then he raised his chin defiantly. "Are you going to kill me?" He said calmly.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't." The other teen spat out and Takashi responded without thinking.

"I love you, Ichigo." He said simply and smiled as he saw the stunned look on the redhead's face. But then his eyes went wide as it was replaced with a frightening fury. The sword flashed out and for a brief moment, Takashi thought he was about to die. But Yoruichi caught Ichigo's arm, stopping him just as the tip of the blade pricked Takashi's chest. "Ichigo…" He'd still wasn't afraid of death, but the thought gave him a sense of deep and profound regret. Yuki would miss her horsey.

"Liar. Hollows can't feel love." Ichigo said harshly and Takashi took a deep breath, glancing down at the sword. Ichigo reluctantly withdrew it, although Yoruichi was watching him closely.

"…Look. Why don't you tell me what you think I am? Because I have no damned clue." He said and Ichigo looked at him suspiciously, as if he was trying to figure him out. Then he launched into the story. Takashi listened silently as Ichigo told him about his inner hollow, the gikon and how it was lost. A sinking sensation in his gut told him that the story was true. But what did it mean for him now? "Ichigo…" Takashi swallowed, hard. No wonder Ichigo was so angry at him. He decided that absolute honesty was the only thing that could save him and his relationship with the teen. "Look, I don't know if what I'm feeling is love but… let me explain." Takashi took a moment to marshal his thoughts. He needed to make this good.

"Back when I was the old Takashi, I was filled with emotions." He said, remembering how it had felt to be like that. It hadn't been good. "I was so guilty, Ichigo. I felt shame, disgust and hate, all for myself. I knew I was doing the wrong thing, but all those feelings never stopped me. I just took more drugs to make the pain go away." Takashi paused, then took a deep breath. "Then I ate that pill and everything changed. I'm cold, compared to the old Takashi. The things I did, they don't bother me anymore. I've just decided I'm not going to do them, because it was weak and stupid. My dad is dying and, you know, I don't even feel bad about it. People live and people die, its how life is, right? But I'm still there holding his hand." He met Ichigo's eyes, wondering if he could understand. Wondering if any human could understand. "My old self would have been crying and shit, and you know what? He'd have been worse than useless. He'd have been expecting everyone to take care of him and his feelings, because in his world, everything was about him. He was a taker, Ichigo." It was mildly painful to admit that. Although knowing that that person wasn't really him did help. "So, do I love you? I don't really know. Maybe I'm not capable of real love, the way a human would feel it. But I do know one thing… I'd be a good boyfriend to you. Because I know how to _give_, not just _take._"

"A hollow knows how to give?" Yoruichi asked but her tone was more curious than hostile. Takashi paused and tried to delve into his feelings. Then he shook his head.

"I just can't remember. If you want, though, I can leave my body again and you can question the other me." Takashi knew they were the same person. There were no voices in his head, not really, just feral thoughts that seemed based on his instincts. "He could probably tell you." Although he wasn't that eager to leave his body again. It had been so draining. Yoruichi shook her head.

"Maybe in a few days when you have your strength back up. Oh, are you hungry? I made those steaks." She said cheerfully and Takashi blinked as he realized he was ravenous.

"Please." He said and she brought out some steaks that were badly charred around the edges, but raw on the inside. That suited Takashi just fine, he liked his steaks rare anyway and he tore into them like a starving man. Ichigo just watched him eat with a frown on his face. "These're good." He mumbled, actually enjoying the burnt flavor. "Why don't you go back to your body and have some?" He said to the spiritual version of Ichigo. He made a face.

"I already did. I don't know how you can like them." He did go back to his body, though. But the scowl on his face was just as impressive as always and Takashi felt the need to tease him a bit.

"You know, if you keep your face like that too long it might get stuck that way." He said and an unwilling smile tugged on the other teen's lips. Ichigo hesitated before sitting down on the bed beside him.

"I just wish I knew if I could trust you." He said in a low tone and Takashi frowned. How could he get past that? "You made so many threats against my friends, my family…"

"Well." Takashi considered it a moment. "I must have been really pissed off. Why was I so angry?" He ventured and Ichigo hesitated before answering.

"You wanted control of my body and I wouldn't give it to you." He said and Takashi blinked. For just a moment he remembered an underwater world, light shining from above. Then the vision vanished.

"Well, I have my own body now. And while I do want yours, it's only for an hour or two at a time." He said with a playful leer and Ichigo gave him a severe look. "Seriously, why would I be mad at you now? I don't think I'm really that vengeful." Takashi was fully capable of letting insults and slights slide off his back. He needed that, his past often came up in very unpleasant ways. "It's all worked out for the best." Takashi said and felt a deep contentment inside. He liked his new life. He loved his family and Yuki especially. He would like it to have more danger, but if he wanted that he could just walk through the bad part of town at midnight. That would get him some danger pretty quick. Ichigo sighed, looking down.

"I suppose." He sounded depressed, though. Takashi frowned, his mouth full of food. Then he set down his plate, even though he was only half done.

"Ichigo." Acting more out of instinct than anything, he flopped over on his back and squirmed around, putting his head in Ichigo's lap. The teen looked down at him, surprised and wary. "Can't we just start over? I want a chance to prove myself to you, King." The word slipped out without thought. Ichigo stiffened before giving him a searching look.

"Would you feel that way if you could really remember?" He asked, but the hand that touched Takashi's cheek and stroked through his pale, nearly white hair was gentle. Takashi sighed then nuzzled him in a very intimate way, making him squeak and shove him away.

"Ask me in two or three days, when Yoruichi says I can get out of my body again." He said with a grin, amused by that reaction. He sat back up, picking up his plate again. His stomach was still quite empty. "But I don't think I could be liking you so much if my instincts hated you." He was pretty sure his heart had moved on. Picking up his fork, Takashi began eating the rest of the steak. The raw meat was heavenly. Ichigo watched him a moment before standing.

"I'm going to call my family." He said and Takashi nodded, swallowing a chunk of meat.

"Good idea, I should do that too." He'd been keeping in contact with texts and e-mails, but they'd probably like it if he called. And he should call his mom and dad, too. They would be pleased to hear from him.

The rest of the night was a bit awkward, and Takashi could guess why. There was still a great deal of sexual tension between the two of them. He was carefully ignoring the occasional glances Ichigo gave him when he thought he wasn't looking. There was heat in those brown eyes, but also suspicion and wariness. Takashi was debating whether or not he should approach Ichigo tonight, but hormones finally decided him when they were eating dessert. It was something he'd put together on the spur of the moment, a concoction of real whipped cream, fried apricots and a bit of brandy. There was a bit of cream on Ichigo's upper lip and the teen hadn't noticed. It would drive him absolutely mad if he left it there.

"Hey Ichigo." Takashi smiled as he reached out. He caught the errant bit of cream with one finger, wiping it away as Ichigo looked at him, surprised. Then he brought that finger to his mouth, slowly and sensuously licking away the cream. There was a soft sound of fabric moving as Ichigo shifted on the couch, watching the way his tongue was moving over long, white fingers. "You know, we could do some really interesting things with this cream." He said in a smoky, lustful tone and saw Ichigo shudder.

"We really shouldn't…" The teen muttered but Takashi could tell his resolve was weak. Hormones (_instincts_) were screaming at him to take the pleasure being offered.

"Why shouldn't we? We both live dangerously, you never know when it'll all be over." Takashi slid off the couch, kneeling in front of Ichigo and putting a hand on his knee. He smiled as he glanced between the teen's legs. There was definitely a little problem there. "Enjoy it while you can." He reached out to pull down the zipper and Ichigo's hands rested on his shoulders, not really fighting him but clearly uncertain.

"What about Yoruichi – oh…" Ichigo moaned softly as Takashi freed him from his pants. Then he shivered as a bit of cold cream was stroked along his hardened length.

"She can watch if she wants. An audience can be hot…" Takashi murmured before slowly, teasingly licking the cream away. It tasted good, sweet and thick on his tongue. "Mmm." He gently prodded Ichigo's head with his tongue, swirling it over his slit. The teen gasped and Takashi glanced up and saw that his head had fallen back. His face was adorably flushed and his deep brown eyes were wide and staring. _Perfect._ Smiling to himself, Takashi went back to his self-appointed task. He rested a hand on Ichigo's hips, holding him back from thrusting as he treated his cock like a sweet, sweet lollipop, licking it up and down. When Ichigo was hard and aching with need, Takashi took him into his mouth again.

"So good…" Ichigo groaned softly, his hands sliding through pale curls. They had lightened again, probably from that brief stint outside his body. Takashi enjoyed that touch, the signs that Ichigo's resistance to him was fading. He increased the suction, loving all the little sounds he was pulling from his partner. Then he deep throated the teen, not stopping until his nose nudged bright orange curls.

It didn't take long after that. The hot tension of his throat was too much and Ichigo came with a cry, his fingers digging into Takashi's scalp. He didn't mind the mild pain, just concentrating on swallowing Ichigo's cum. Then he pulled back, breathing hard and wiping his lips as he looked up. The look on Ichigo's face was adorable, flushed and breathing hard, his lips slightly parted.

"You know, you've done that to me twice now but I've never done it to you. Would you like me to…?" Ichigo murmured as he caught his breath. Takashi shook his head with a grin as he moved up, straddling Ichigo's waist on the couch.

"Nah. I love that cute little uke face you give me." He said teasingly and Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously. That was all the warning he had before the teen under him abruptly turned the tables. Takashi yelped as he was suddenly shoved back onto the sofa, landing on his back against the leather cushions, Ichigo firmly on top of him.

"Who exactly are you calling an uke?" The other teen said dangerously and Takashi squirmed for a moment before lifting his chin in an instinctive gesture, baring his throat in submission. And while Ichigo probably didn't understand the meaning of that, he saw the opening and took it. Teeth nipped pale skin and Takashi gasped at the mild, pleasurable pain.

"Uh… me?" He managed to say and Ichigo laughed.

"I'm glad to see you know where this is going." He said and crashed his lips against Takashi's. The kiss was hot and feral, not the least bit tender. It inflamed the former hollow like nothing else and he found himself grinding against Ichigo, desperate for more friction on his cock. Clothing was in the way, though, and as Ichigo started to unzip him Takashi thought of something.

"Ichigo. Condom." He managed and the teen stopped for a moment, a frustrated look crossing his face. "In my bedroom, the first drawer. The lube is there too." They'd certainly need that. Takashi knew exactly how it felt to be taken without any and he was damned if he'd go through that again.

"Right." Ichigo quickly abandoned him and while he was gone, Takashi took the opportunity to get undressed. Then he settled back down on the couch and stretched invitingly before sliding his hand over his own cock, teasing himself. That was the sight that greeted Ichigo as he stepped back into the room and he froze a moment, his eyes wide. Takashi grinned as he saw how affected he was.

"Come over here, I'm dying to feel you inside me." He purred, wondering at the passion he was feeling. He'd _never_ looked forward to this before. But things were different now. Ichigo swallowed hard before sliding onto the couch with him, the lube and condom in hand. Ichigo didn't bother to get fully undressed, just unzipping and pulling down his pants. Takashi heartily approved. He was in no mood to wait. Ichigo was impatient, too, going straight to stretching him out. Takashi moaned softly at the feeling of fingers inside him, gripping the leather cushions of the couch as Ichigo searched for his prostate. He gasped as the teen found it, arching into his touch. "Fuck yes!" He wanted _more._ "Shit, take me Ichigo."

"Fuck." Came the mumbled reply and Takashi whimpered as the fingers vanished. Then there was the sound of a wrapper opening and his legs were flicked over Ichigo's shoulders. He was flexible so the position was no problem, and it was better suited to the couch.

It hurt when Ichigo pushed inside him. Takashi hissed softly, but quickly adjusted to it. And the pain actually turned him on. Another surprise – he'd never enjoyed pain before – but instincts were coming to the fore again. And those instincts said that sex (_mating_) was supposed to hurt. The sensation of being filled, stretched so fully, also sent a jolt of fire through his body.

"Take me Ichigo!" He moaned out as the teen paused, giving him a moment to adjust. That was all he needed and Ichigo pulled out before roughly thrusting back in. The thrusts were fast and powerful, slamming Takashi against the couch, and he loved every moment of it.

There was no dark power rising this time, no hollow energy perfuming the air. Just the rise and fall of human bodies and the intense, primitive link between them. Takashi didn't care about the lack, his fingers tangling with Ichigo's as his body responded, trying to pull the teen deeper into him.

"You feel so good…" Ichigo panted out as he shoved harder into the hot, tight body beneath him. Takashi wasn't virgin tight but he was close, after so much time without sex. Hot muscles seemed to suck him in, actively aiding the penetration. "Takashi… love you…" The words slipped out almost accidentally. Despite the suspicion and the revelations, he still had deep feelings for his pale friend.

"Love you… too… ah…!" Takashi's fingers clenched tight on Ichigo's as his orgasm came on quickly. There wasn't much stimulation to his cock, but that didn't matter, not with Ichigo pressing so relentlessly against his prostate. "Ah!" He cried out, his black and gold eyes going wide as the pleasure jolted him. Semen splashed across his belly and chest as he spasmed, his insides clenching tight around his partner. Ichigo gasped, those tightening muscles taking him over the edge. Takashi could feel the spreading warmth inside himself, and it felt good. Not sick and wrong, the way it had when he was the 'real' Takashi.

They stayed linked together for a moment, just looking at each other. Then Ichigo smiled and squeezed his fingers before pulling away, letting him drop his legs back to the couch. But instead of moving away, he lay down on top of Takashi, supporting his weight with his arms. That was followed by a deep, intimate kiss. Their position before hadn't really allowed for that and Takashi gripped orange curls, enjoying that immensely.

"You do have such a pretty uke face." Ichigo breathed in his ear, making the other teen grin.

"Gee, thanks!" Takashi laughed, resting his head back against the cushions. "Oh look, it's the OMG cat." He said, glancing to the side, and Ichigo turned his head to look. Standing in the room was an utterly shocked Yoruichi. An open mouthed cat really was quite amusing.

"…I'd freak out, but it's entirely our fault." Ichigo said, but blushed and pulled away, taking off the condom and pulling his pants back up. Takashi just stayed on the couch, feeling spent and sleepy. "Takashi!"

"I don't care, she can look at me all she likes. Just no pictures and absolutely no videos." He said with a grin, lacing his fingers behind his head. Then his pants landed on his chest. "Oh hell man! I'm dirty and now my pants are dirty!" He complained, sitting up. Ichigo gave him an exasperated but fond look.

"Go take a shower. And put your pants in the wash, they're getting smelly." He ordered and Takashi sniffed his pants. They were a bit on the whiffy side. Grumbling, he pulled himself to his feet and walked past the stunned Yoruichi, still buck naked. He made sure to wiggle his butt as he went by, just to be a tease. There was a soft thump and he glanced behind him to see that either Yoruichi had passed out, or she was a bit of a drama queen. Snickering to himself, he went to put his clothes in the washer first. Then he went to take a shower.

When he got out, a towel wrapped around his waist, someone was kicking up a bit of a fuss.

"My virgin eyes!" Yoruichi wailed, which was particularly funny with her masculine voice. "Why didn't you warn me? I would have had my video camera ready!"

"See, that? That's why we didn't warn you." Takashi said as Ichigo covered his face with one hand. "I don't want to see pictures of us being used as wallpaper by that weird guy in the striped hat." And his buried memories said that was very likely to happen. Ichigo groaned.

"He would, too. So what's the plan now?" He said, changing the subject. Ichigo was fully clothed, not surprising since he hadn't undressed in the first place. Takashi frowned and glanced towards his bedroom.

"Hang on a minute." He didn't want to miss this, but he didn't want to stand there in a towel either. He quickly pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt before padding back. "Okay, shoot. What's the plan?"

"I think you boys should both stay here for a while. Go out, enjoy Tokyo, whatever you feel up for." Yoruichi said, licking her paw. "I'm going to scout out this new Yakuza boss. I'd rather do it by myself, however. Cats can go so many places that humans can't."

"Hmm, okay. But you can't get into the condo by yourself. When and where should we meet you?" Ichigo asked and they decided to meet up at the local coffee shop at eight tomorrow.

"And if I'm not there, don't worry, just come by the same time the next day. If I'm not there then contact Urahara." The cat shinigami advised them, then rose to her feet and arched her back, stretching out. "See you boys later!" The door popped open… Yoruichi could handle doorknobs with a bit of kido… and the cat walked out to begin her work. Takashi watched her go, then looked at Ichigo.

"So what do we want to do? Keeping in mind I've got…" Takashi checked his wallet. "Fifty bucks to my name." It was actually fifty dollars and some change. "I think Disneyland is out." He didn't think he could even make it through the door on that. He certainly couldn't make it through the gate and buy lunch. Ichigo laughed.

"We're both too old for that anyway. Let's go check the internet." Takashi grinned as he followed Ichigo to the computer room. This place had a room for everything and there were many computes available, all of them top of the line. They both quickly logged in and began searching for things they could do that were cheap or free.

After a bit of searching and chatting, they decided go have a picnic lunch at a local park. Then they would take the train to an artsy district and go for a stroll. Tokyo was a very pedestrian friendly city. They would take a look at the sights before coming home to make use of the DVD collection again. Takashi approved of the plans.

"I'll make us some bento boxes for the picnic lunch." He had plenty of rice and while he was no sushi chef, he'd be able to make a decent approximation. "Hey, speaking of which, what would you like with the pork chops?" He'd set them to marinating in a homemade glaze. "I was thinking I could just steam some vegetables." That along with the rice would make a very good supper tomorrow. Ichigo nodded.

"That sounds great. I'm not picky." He said with a smile and Takashi was pleased to see that all of the earlier tension was gone. No doubt the issue would come back to haunt them, but for now they were both happy.

And that was all that mattered.


	8. Chat with a Hollow

"Man, we got slaughtered in there." Takashi said, using a little brochure to fan himself as they walked down the street. "Those little punks were brutal."

"It was a lot of fun though." Ichigo said absently as he glanced at the buildings. This was a very commercial district and there were plenty of things to see in the windows. Takashi nodded, putting away his pamphlet.

"Yeah, it was. I would totally do that again. Does it strike you as strange, though? I mean, I sort of remember being able to throw a freakin' sword at you and almost nail you at fifty paces. A really big sword, too." Takashi gestured and Ichigo grimaced at the reminder. "But I can't hit a damn thing with an itty bitty laser gun. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Got me there." Ichigo admitted with a small laugh. His hollow had a point. "I never used my sword that way so at least I have an excuse." After the trip to the park and the bento box lunch, they'd followed through on their plan to go on a walk through the city. Along the way they'd encountered a laser tag place and decided it looked like fun. Ichigo had put it on his credit card. He was sure his father wouldn't mind. "So you're remembering things now?" He asked and Takashi shrugged.

"I always did have flashes. I just dismissed them because I knew I was Takashi. What would playing with swords and an underwater world have to do with me?" He said with a crooked grin and Ichigo nodded. That made sense. "Now that I know they're real, it's coming back to me more. It's still pretty incomplete though." The memories were fragmentary and sometimes didn't make much sense. "Hey look, there's a gelato place. Would you like some?"

"Sure." Ichigo said with a small smile and they quickly got into line. "Just a small cup." It was just a treat. Takashi nodded. "Chocolate." He answered when the young lady manning it asked. Takashi looked over the flavors thoughtfully.

"I want to try that sour cherry stuff." He decided and Ichigo glanced at it. It had real, dried cherries on top and looked rather tempting. But he decided to stay with his chocolate. Soon they had their little cups of sweetness. "Mmm." Takashi murmured, licking a bit of cream off his lips. "I like it. Want to try a bit?"

"Sure." Ichigo dipped his spoon into the dessert, sampling it. "Tart! Want to try some chocolate?" He asked and Takashi grinned.

"Sure!" He tried it and smiled. "Smooth. Both different, but both good. Kind of like us." He said warmly before slowly licking off his spoon in a slow, sensual movement. Then he smiled as Ichigo put a hand behind his head, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

"Tease." The other teen breathed in his ear before letting go. Takashi enjoyed the feeling and didn't give a damn about some of the looks people were giving them.

They spent some more time just walking and looking. Tokyo was an amazing city, really, especially compared to sleepy little Karakura town. Takashi thought he would be glad to go home, though. The air seemed thin here (_not enough reishi_) and it was mildly uncomfortable. It was good for a visit but he wouldn't want to stay.

Money and time exhausted, they finally took the train home. It was packed as usual. Takashi jumped as someone squeezed his ass and glared around but finally grumbled and turned his attention back to Ichigo. He had no idea who had just groped him. The teen was giving him an odd look.

"What's wrong?" He asked and Takashi huffed a laugh.

"Someone just grabbed my ass." He said and Ichigo stiffened before looking behind him, trying to figure out who had committed the outrage. "I have no idea who it was. Don't worry about it."

"Hmph." Ichigo muttered and Takashi hoped no one grabbed his ass. He might punch them out. They finally got to their stop and managed to get out of the packed train. "Honestly, I'm going to be glad to get home. Tokyo is fun to visit but I would never want to live here."

"Me too." Takashi said fervently. "It's way too crowded." He didn't like being completely isolated but he didn't like feeling like he was being smothered by other people, either. If living in that underwater place had been on one end of the spectrum, Tokyo was on the other.

They were just passing by an alleyway when a glint of metal and a harsh voice caught Takashi's attention.

"You, whitey. Get over here." Takashi stood frozen for a moment. Ichigo took a few steps forward before realizing something was wrong and looking back. "Move you white freak." Takashi glanced at Ichigo and gestured for him to leave, but he just scowled and stepped closer to see what was happening. "Move!" The hand holding the gun was wavering and Takashi decided that anymore hesitating would get him shot. He took slow, careful steps towards the alleyway. As he did, he tried to reach out and grip the other man's soul. To his dismay, he couldn't. He could barely perceive it let alone grasp it.

"Takashi, what – oh." Ichigo stopped, utterly dismayed as he saw the gun trained on his friend. Then it moved to him and Takashi tensed even further. But he knew he couldn't kill the man before he could shoot. He was a scrawny man with black, badly matted hair. The way he trembled and his bloodshot eyes were very familiar to Takashi.

"Give me your money." He grated out and Takashi reached for his wallet. He only had twenty dollars left, it was certainly not worth his life.

"Look, just calm down." Ichigo said soothingly but it was a mistake. Takashi saw as his twitchy anxiety suddenly flashed over into rage.

"Ichigo!" He shoved his friend and lover out of the way before feeling a violent pull on his shoulder. He didn't even register the gunshot, but he did see the explosion of blood. Gasping in pain, he landed against the wall of the alleyway on his good shoulder, looking down at the mess of blood and bone. His arm had very nearly been torn off.

Takashi looked up in time to see Ichigo punch the thief. The thief had been staring, almost surprised by what he'd done and Ichigo took advantage of the moment. The teen's strike was full force and meant to be lethal. The thief dropped his gun to clutch at his crushed throat and Ichigo kicked it away. Takashi smiled approvingly as he slid down the wall, leaving a trail of gore on the rough stones.

"Takashi? …Oh shit." Ichigo was beside him, undoing his belt. That puzzled the other teen for a moment before he remembered. A tourniquet… but how would he apply it? His shoulder was shattered. Takashi was no expert on firearms, but he knew it must have been a large caliber.

_(his soul)_ Takashi blinked as his instincts swam up out of the morass of his mind. _(take it)_ He shook his head weakly. _(just a piece)_ Ichigo's soul swam into his vision, so powerful it was almost dazzling. And still attached to him, but only weakly. What would happen if he devoured it all? He honestly wasn't sure. But he knew what would happen if he took just a small part.

"Ichigo." Takashi murmured as the teen tried desperately to tighten the belt around the remains of his shoulder. It wasn't working. "I can… regenerate… if you give me… something…" He coughed, knowing they needed to do this quickly. He was close to fainting and if that happened he would certainly die.

"What? What do I need to give you? Takashi!" Ichigo gripped his uninjured shoulder and shook him, trying to keep his attention. Takashi blinked woozily, forcing himself to speak.

"A piece… of your soul… high speed… regeneration…" He knew that would mean something to Ichigo. The teen hesitated, then brown eyes hardened with resolve.

"Do it." He said decisively. Takashi gripped him weakly and Ichigo obeyed the unspoken command, coming closer. Takashi took a deep breath, just looking at his soul for a moment. Then he sank his blunt teeth into the bend of the teen's neck, until he could taste blood.

The minor sound of pain was followed by a real scream as Takashi tore away a tiny piece of his essence. It felt like black fire on his tongue, achingly painful and incredibly… right. He was deeply tempted to take it all and his instincts suddenly screamed at him to do it, but Takashi fought them back. He was not going to kill Ichigo.

He abruptly jerked away, feeling white stuff explode from his ruined shoulder. There was a strange hissing as his body was abruptly glued together, then completely healed. Takashi blinked as strength suddenly returned to him. He just managed to keep Ichigo from falling onto the ground. The teen had fainted, probably from the pain of losing a piece of himself.

"Damn." Takashi quickly checked Ichigo's pulse, finding that it was quick and thready but very much there. Gently setting the teen down he looked at the thief. He'd finished expiring, his face blue and his eyes bugged out from suffocation. The ghost had either run off or found the way to the afterlife automatically. That often happened, otherwise the Living World would have been overrun with ghosts. "Hmph." Takashi took the new power he'd been given and built a small cero, using it to destroy the body. It would be better for both of them to avoid questioning by the police. Picking up the gun, he made sure the safety was on before tucking it into his shirt. Then he knelt down, gently shaking Ichigo's shoulder. "Hey Ichigo?" There was no response. "This is going to be tough if I have to carry you… Ichigo?" Wincing at the necessity, Takashi concentrated hard and gave his friend a tiny shock of hollow power. That roused him with a yelp and brown eyes blinked, dazed and confused. "C'mon Ichi, we need to get back to the condo." He coaxed the teen. Ichigo looked incredibly groggy and out of it but he finally nodded his head.

"Okay." Ignoring the blood on his own shirt, Takashi gently helped Ichigo to the condo building. Unfortunately, the concierge was on duty.

"My god! What happened to you?" He asked, horrified by the amount of blood. Takashi's mind raced as he tried to think of an excuse. Something from his days as a drug addict immediately popped to mind.

"A really bad nosebleed. My friend tried to run to me and tripped and fell. We'll both be fine though." He assured the man who nodded, quickly letting them in. "Thank you."

They were lucky and no one else was on the elevator. Soon they were safely in the condo and Takashi had to nearly carry Ichigo to the bedroom. He quickly tucked the teen in before checking his reiatsu. It was very muted, compared to what it had been before, but that was no surprise. Losing a chunk of his soul would do that. Takashi hoped he would get better soon but instincts told him it might take a while. Sighing to himself, he went to the shower to clean himself off, stripping away the bloody shirt as he went. It was completely ruined and went in the trash. He didn't regret losing it, though.

His life was far more important.

* * *

Ichigo felt like absolute crap the next day.

It vaguely reminded him of the flu, but without any sniffling or coughing. Just a general run down feeling that made him want to stay in bed and do nothing at all. But he couldn't do that, so despite feeling like a complete zombie, the orange haired teen forced himself to get up and greet the day.

A cold shower did a bit to help, but not much, and he shuffled into the main living room to find that Takashi was cooking breakfast. His stomach growled at the delicious scent of food and Ichigo rubbed his face wearily before going to see what was cooking.

"Hey Ichigo!" Takashi was so perky it was disgusting. The contrast made Ichigo feel even more out of it. "Are you okay?" He said, clearly noticing that his friend didn't look too good. Ichigo shrugged.

"I've had worse." That was certainly true. The time when he'd been recovering from his run in with Zaraki, that had been worse. Or the time right after Aizen did a number on him when he was rescuing Rukia. Or the first time he'd run into Grimmjow. Or… Ichigo decided to stop thinking about it. It was honestly rather depressing. Takashi frowned, looking down into his frying pan.

"I'm sorry. I'm feeling great, but I know it's because of what I took from you. I'm feeling like a leech or something." He said uncomfortably. Ichigo shook his head.

"You have nothing to apologize for. What are you making, pancakes?" He asked to take them away from that touchy subject. And also, the pancakes in the pan looked different somehow. Takashi shook his head.

"Not really. I read this weird recipe for healthy pancakes so I decided I would try it. They're just a single egg mixed with crushed banana, some fresh raspberries and a bit of cinnamon for flavor." Ichigo blinked, looking at the thing in the pan. He honestly wouldn't have guessed it was egg and banana. "They do look a lot like pancakes though, don't they?"

"Yeah, they do." He said, a bit bemused. Takashi flipped two pancakes out and onto a plate, offering it to him, and he accepted. Odd recipe or not they sounded interesting. "Can we put maple syrup on them?"

"Oh sure. The website actually recommended whipped cream so I made that too." Takashi gestured to the mixer and Ichigo went to peek inside. Sure enough, it was full of real whipped cream. It looked delicious but the signs of how perky his friend was made him feel even more tired.

Fishing out a spoon, Ichigo plopped some whipped cream down on his 'pancakes'. A small drizzle of maple syrup and he was ready to eat. Takashi finished his own pancakes and soon joined him in the breakfast nook, trying the new version of pancakes.

"These are really good, nice and fluffy." He said, a touch surprised and Ichigo nodded. They actually were delicious although nothing like real pancakes.

"Takashi, I was wondering." Ichigo said as his fork scraped the bottom of the plate. "Could you leave your body for a moment?" Takashi looked up sharply from his food, his expression questioning. "I know it takes a lot out of you but you seem to have energy to burn at the moment."

"I could but why? What do you want with me… that way?" He said apprehensively and Ichigo frowned a little. So it wasn't like an alternate personality for Takashi, not really. It was just clearly remembering all of his past, which he couldn't do in his body.

"I want to ask him a few things. Like how a hollow could know about giving." He said quietly and Takashi winced before setting down his fork with a sigh.

"Well, I'm done eating so if we're going to do it we might as well get it over with." His partner said with no enthusiasm. Ichigo gave him a questioning look and he grimaced. "It just feels weird, leaving my body, and what I do outside of it is a big blank space in my memory. I don't like it."

"Oh, I see." That would be pretty weird. Takashi went over to the couch and lay down on it to spare his body any discomfort before concentrating a moment. Ichigo watched as the white liquid flowed out of his mouth again. It reminded him strongly of the time he'd spent in the pit, when his chain of fate had rotted away. Then it formed into his hollow and Ichigo stared at him, surprised.

"You look more like Takashi." He said, fascinated. His hollow was nearly a white copy of Takashi now, although his hair was still much longer in the back. His clothing had changed too. Instead of a hakama and jacket he was wearing white jeans and a white tank top with "Kingslayer" written on it in big, black lettering. Ichigo gave him a scowl. "And that's just not nice." The hollow looked puzzled before glancing down at his shirt and emitting a twisted cackle.

"I didn't do it on purpose. Wonder why…?" The words changed and now there was a picture of the pyramids with the words "Slavery – gets shit done" beneath. Ichigo glared at his hollow who just smiled innocently.

"Now you're just messing with me. Can you try not to be completely disgusting?" Ichigo said severely and his hollow grinned before the t-shirt changed again. Now the words said "Sorry about what happens later". Ichigo sighed but decided not to make an issue over it. "That'll do… so can you tell me about a hollow could experience love?" He asked and his inner hollow, or whatever he was now, shrugged and leaned against a wall.

"I don't know if we do, the way a human would. But we certainly experience caring and the give and take of relationships." He said and Ichigo gave him a skeptical look. "It's all about hollow evolution, Ichigo. When we start, we're nothing but mindless instincts. Those are the kind of hollows you know the most about. But things change as we evolve." His hollow glanced at his human body before favoring him with a smirk. "And since evolving is becoming more human, my acquiring a human body makes me quite evolved. I was actually less advanced when I was inside you, in many ways."

"So how does hollow evolution go?" Ichigo asked, determined to keep this on track. "The shinigami could only tell me what powers each level has." They didn't know or care about how hollows lived and evolved. His hollow – Takashi's hollow? – scowled.

"That's shinigami for you. Alright… after the first stage, we become gillians and rudimentary social behavior begins to emerge." His hollow said and Ichigo listened, interested. "Gillian are like cattle. They travel in large herds and will protect the herd from any outsiders trying to harm them. However, when one of their own feels the need to evolve and goes cannibal they put up no resistance. They will completely ignore their cannibal cousin even as it feeds on them, until it becomes adjuchas. At that point the evolved hollow is no longer part of the herd and must leave the Gillian forest for Hueco Mundo proper."

"Adjuchas are where the real social behavior begins to emerge." His hollow said, checking over his finger nails for dirt. "Fighting for survival alone is a chancy business. To increase their chances, adjuchas band together and fraccion begin to emerge. However… these are hollows. Humans put up with ridiculous shit from each other, Ichigo. Hollows don't. If a hollow in a fraccion is unable to give anything useful to the fraccion, than sooner or later they will be eaten." The hollow said with relish. Ichigo winced a little at the thought, but it did make sense. "So those who join fraccions need to have at least some social skills, some understanding of altruism. And really, social instincts are instincts… they're just higher instincts, which is why they appear later."

"Wait, social instincts? You think that everything humans do is ruled by our instincts?" Ichigo questioned. He wasn't sure he agreed with that. The hollow shrugged, making a see-sawing gesture with one hand.

"Not exactly. Some people seem to believe humans have no instincts, but that's not true at all. You just have the ability to go against your instincts, overriding them with your intellect. But the basic urge to be social and reach out to others, yes, that's an instinct. That's why solitary confinement is a punishment." He said with a smile and Ichigo nodded. That did make sense.

"And what about vasto lorde? How do they fit into this?" He asked and his hollow grinned. Ichigo noticed again that his teeth were slightly crooked. He really was changing to match his new body, and the process seemed to be accelerating.

"Vasto lorde have the power to completely abandon fraccions, and some do. But most don't, preferring to keep other hollows around them simply for company. And at that stage, the urge to reproduce often comes to the fore." Ichigo's eyes widened at that bit of information. Reproduce? "It's much easier for a vasto lorde to have cubs than an adjuchas. After all, who would dare raid the den of a vasto lorde? So families start to emerge at that stage, although typically one parent is an adjuchas. Vasto lorde are very rare." He shrugged and Ichigo swallowed.

"I see." It made him wonder if the shinigami were aware of this. Had they just not told him, or was their information as sketchy as the pictures Rukia had given him? "One thing puzzles me... hasn't anyone noticed that you've become a completely different person?" Ichigo was sure that if his body had been taken over by his hollow, his friends and family would have noticed. But it seemed like none of Takashi's had. His hollow gave him a wicked grin.

"Oh, they've noticed! They say things like 'it's like he's a whole new person, and it's wonderful!'" His hollow said mockingly and Ichigo winced. "Don't feel bad for the old me, Ichigo. He was something you would have scraped off your shoe." Then his hollow frowned, pushing himself away from the wall. "Tch, I don't have enough power for this. I need to go back to my body, or I'll go back to being practically _normal_ again." He said normal like it was a dirty word. Ichigo frowned at that, an unsettling thought occurring to him. When his hollow completed his transformation, would Takashi still be spiritually aware? What would he be? "Later Ichigo." He dissolved into white and slid back into his body. Takashi groaned, resting a hand on his forehead for a moment before sitting up.

"That's not fun… did you get what you needed?" He asked Ichigo who nodded. He had a lot of food for thought, but he understood now how a hollow could care for others. "I hope Yoruichi will be around tonight." Takashi said wistfully. They'd managed to get to the coffee shop yesterday but the cat hadn't been there.

"I hope so too." Ichigo was hoping she would finally have some news for them.

He desperately wanted to go home.


End file.
